Lost Never Found
by artofsilence
Summary: A series of cruel crimes remind the indomitable Titans just how vulnerable they really are. [Mature themes, possible yaoi or slash content, please read the warning in Ch.1]
1. Once I Saw a Little Bird

**!Before you read!—Physical and emotional violence ahead!**  
This story contains subject matter that may offend some people, such as rape, prostitution and molestation involving minors. I am thoroughly against crimes of any nature against children and this story is in no way meant to condone such acts. There may contain some explicit description of sexual acts in the future but ONLY if it will help with the plot, character, mood development. I do advise that this is adult content and language, but I also understand there are very mature people of various ages. Thus, those who feel they are mature enough for these types of content, continue if you wish. Please be responsible for yourself with any story containing difficult topics—irresponsible readers brought down the quality of what once was a flourishing FFnet. **If the mentioned subject matter offends you, please do not read any further.**

Notes:  
Beast Boy: 13 yrs old  
Robin: 14 yrs old  
Raven: 16 yrs old  
Starfire, Cyborg: 17 yrs old  
(Due to Star's alien heritage, I thought of making her older in Earth years while on Tameran she would still be considered a "young" teen like Robin and BB.)

**Possible male/male relationships  
**

Don't expect happiness to last long in this story if it ever erupts. And it's Robin-centric with much angst 'n torture for him. I may be exaggerating too much, but better to over state the warnings than be sorry.

Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans and anything connected to it. The twisted plot is my own along with any original characters that may arise.

Not beta read.

**Lost Never Found**

1: Once I Saw a Little Bird

Robin stayed up day and night meticulously looking at the autopsies and crime scenes over and over again. Each bruise, each cut, each sign of violation fuelled his body to fight sleep and bring those responsible to justice.

A third body was found in the last two weeks totalling to seven since the first victim was discovered. Small, frail bodies thrown away like rag dolls in dumpsters or alleys, anywhere the sunlight didn't reach. Image after image of photos hacked from the city police told the story of abuse of the worse kind—violations of both body and mind. A particular detail that told even more ruthlessness was found on each victim. A tattoo of a barcode was found on the back of the neck at the base.

He could see it in the pictures. A trade was going on, and it was beyond the confines of Jump City.

Some had mutilations around their bodies, some located specifically in the most private of parts. Others were free of any bruises or cuts, and just looked as if they were simply sleeping when they were found. In most, if not all the victims, traces of drugs, most likely aphrodisiac-related chemicals were found in their blood stream but too much was naturally absorbed by the body to make an identification of the drug. The police expected even an eye drop of foreign bodily fluids to extract from the victims to be analyzed for known pedophiles but not a trace could be found.

Whoever these people were, they knew exactly how to erase evidence.

News of kidnappings from neighbouring cities made it to his ears and he knew somehow it was all connected. Five corpse that were identified had records identifying the children were born and raised outside of Jump City which made it even harder to swallow.

Not all victims were reported dead…yet. Reports of children, sixteen years or younger being abducted from school grounds to homes permeated the news and no one knew how it was being done. And Robin had the undying suspicion that an unhealthy percent of the victims that remain voiceless in the media were street children. In their current circumstances, they were the most vulnerable in these types of organized crime.

But the methods used to isolate the children tore at his heart the most.

He had difficulty reading some of the reports, with at least two children's parents killed right in their homes just…because they were there—they just got in the way. Many missing children were from divorced parents, a traumatic event in their family lives that would make them easy prey to outside influences. Some children were described as too trustful, shy or had bouts of depression. Others lead healthy lives who actively participated in sports and school clubs with popularity to fuel their egos. In short, there was no specific pattern to the kidnappings.

Reading all this reminded Robin the "teen" part of Teen Titans that he worked hard to quell beneath him in his mind. He had to if he were to continue in his line of work. The team as a whole had its more than fair share of grisly tales, but Robin's extra experience in Gotham exposed him out more to the darker side of humanity at a very early age. A part of him, the normal teenager who should be worried about dates and finals, screamed that he shouldn't be looking at such pictures. After all, he only just turned fourteen two months ago and the transition from one age to the next does not always translate to instant maturity. And indeed it was difficult to look, but too fascinating—in the worst way possible—to tear his eyes away from the images before him.

It was much too easy to get attached to victims who were the close or the same to his age and maybe that was why the others were not involved in the investigations as he was. Perhaps, that was a wise move he should heed. A case made personal forms smog around the crime causing the finding of the simplest of clues and common sense to be hindered. He shouldn't be involving himself in crimes where he saw his own parents in the place of the parents who were slain to reach these children. Or how children as young as… too young, were being abducted.

Maybe he had ignored, or distanced himself from his own feelings, but the faint tremor at the base of his spine was always present when he looked at those photos.

But that was the fuel. That was the reason to be looking at these pictures and read through the reports. If in any way he can contribute in bringing the perpetrators to justice, he would whole heartedly endure this experience.

After all, this was what he trained and prepared for.

But he too often forgot he was a child behind the mask.

ooooooo

"The body of eight year old victim, Sandy Huntington of Gotham City was found dead today on the outskirts of the Jump City landfill. This brings the total of seven bodies discovered within a month and the police are still baffled by these—"

Starfire drowned out the reporter, covering her mouth with her hand, looking away from the giant television screen. The rest of the Titans listened to the same story they heard before, only the names of the victims constantly changed. At first, the atrocity of the crimes froze their hearts, but as time went on and no concrete leads could be ascertained by either the police or themselves, frustration grew like a spore.

They were a group of gifted children who had the power to bring the city to its knees, but were powerless before the horrors of man. It was a vulnerability they weren't used to at all.

Beast Boy watched the entire news, not making a conscious effort to hide his emotions warping his face. He was the youngest, although merely separated by months from Robin. He was the most expressive of the group next to Starfire, and made no qualms in voicing his thoughts, "Geez," he muttered as he listened to the description of bruises and their inference, "what kind of sick mind would do all this…?" He questioned to no one, or maybe he was questioning himself.

"I…I did not believe that such…_evil_ can occur so consecutively…" Starfire kept her gaze away from the screen only to find Raven in her line of vision. The other was floating crossed legged in the air as she meditated. How she could keep her mind calm while listening to such horrors was beyond her. But, she was also aware that the dark girl was meditating more often than usual recently. She absently turned to Cyborg, standing behind the couch with arms crossed watching the same news. A look of disgust and anger painted his face.

Once again it came to her attention that Robin was not with them as it has been for the past two weeks. It was like reliving the Red X incident again, but this time the enemy was faceless. Not even a mask to give the evil its shape. Each of them knew what he was doing behind the door of his research room and couldn't find the rights words to say to pry him from his room. Star shifted out of her seat, walking to almost stand beside Cyborg but facing the opposite direction and looking at the doors to the hallway, "Is Robin still…?"

Cyborg nodded once, "A part of me wants to do whatever it takes to find these bastards too, but he shouldn't be caught this deep in the matter." His voice was steady, feeling his role as the big brother of the group more needed than ever. And he believed what he said. Making something personal always lead to solo actions taking place and they all knew the consequences of that. He wanted to be right there with Robin and take apart each autopsy report or crime scene piece by piece but he knew he wouldn't be able to stomach those images for very long. He just didn't understand how Robin could.

Putting the television on mute, Beast Boy jumped over his seat and purposely landed with a stomp, "_'Matter'_! How can you say that? Robin's just working hard like any other officer to find these…these…… We should be working too! Just because they criminals don't have freakish powers doesn't mean we—"

"That's not what he meant." He was cut off by Raven. During the conversation, she silently made her way to the group unbeknownst to the others.

"Then what?" Frustration was finally reached its boiling point for the youngest Titan, "Can't we do something! I can go out to the scene and maybe sniff something out or—"

"Beast Boy." Raven curtly cut him off again. She was met with angry eyes but let it roll off her shoulder. "The question isn't if we can do anything, it's can we handle it?" She expressed the "we" as if metaphorically speaking, not daring to show that she wasn't able to handle everything. She didn't do fear…most of the time. "How did you feel when you heard about that thirteen year old boy a month ago?"

The anger subsided from the green eyes as Beast Boy contemplated her words. In his want for action, he didn't think about…didn't want to be reminded of the first time the news of corpses started. "Pretty…scared, I guess." He knew that word was an understatement. He was downright frightened of the news. For a few days after hearing about it the first time, he had nightmares of himself in the place of the drowned boy at the city's main sewage system.

Slowly Starfire turned around, looking down at her boots, "I, too, was…shaken about the news." She looked up to the group with obvious pain in her eyes, "Thus, surly Robin must have had strong feelings as well."

Raven nodded only once. She did detect something in Robin, in all her peers, each time a victim was discovered along with the report of the corpses' condition. And she was not immune to the image herself.

Cyborg nodded in agreement. "I know age shouldn't matter with the Titans, but when you can identify with a victim, some things can get clouded. I'm worried he's taking this too personally. He's been keeping to himself for too long."

Star recalled how she, not too long ago, found it odd that most humans put much emphasis on age. The responsibilities accorded to a certain stage in life differed from culture to culture, but still held in high regard all the same. She once found it amusing that she turned out to be the same age as Cyborg after Robin calculated her age in Earth years. She was a fierce warrior with the strength rivalling Cyborg's, yet she felt she was still a child and many times acted like one. She didn't understand why a person could not be an adult and still have the joys of a child to lighten their hearts in the time of peace. Even a Tameranian toddler, enjoying exploration and play of their surroundings, would be ready to take up arms and fight if needed. Being the heiress to her home world, she was taught and always lived by the rule that maturity was awarded to those with experience and the willingness to learn, never given freely with age.

And she could find no finer example of the proverb than her friends. "I know that we would be able to handle the matter better than others of our age, and perhaps we are right now. But we should at least aid the city guardians in their quest to solve this crime."

Cyborg softly smirked at Star's use of words, "The police do and have our cooperation, Star. The commissioner asked us in person." He scratched the back of his head letting out a sigh, "She also said she'd understand if we didn't get too close to the case." The half robot remembered how Jump City's commissioner worded her request, sounding hesitant to voice the problem at all. It wasn't resentment that children were cleaning up the streets better than the police were that held her tongue on a leash. She and the rest of the police were rather grateful for their continued service in keeping the city safe. It was more like a parent trying to protect them from the world but understanding that inevitably, children must face the harshness of life.

They just didn't want it to be known this way.

Beast Boy stood next to Starfire, visually showing his approval of the alien's suggestion, "We can't just sit and do nothing. We can… we have to handle the nature of the crime, Cyborg. Even if it's just to dust a site for clues, we should do SOMETHING to know we're helping."

The other three rested their eyes upon a determined Beast Boy. Rarely did he show this side of him, and when he did, it was hard for the rest of the team to refuse his request.

Cyborg placed a hand on the changeling's shoulder accompanied by a smile. He turned on his wrist communicator, "Robin, we're having a discussion on the current…events, and the consensus is to have a look around."

All of them were waiting for a reply, and after what seemed like minutes have passed, the half-robot's communicator crackled back, "I'll be right there."

ooooooo

The pungent smell of rot and decay assaulted the green bloodhound's olfactory system, but Beast Boy continued to scour the area. Smells of garbage, seagull excrement and lingering dead flesh torn off by the seagulls creeped along the ground. With such stench perpetrating from other sources, it was impossible for the hound to pinpoint any oddities from the landfill.

The others ignored the nasal unpleasantness as best as they could. None of them found any physical evidence of any markings of footprints and the like to indicate perpetrators, but something felt wrong on a different plane.

Raven floated motionless, forgetting the nauseating surroundings as her mind felt a trail of a sensation lurking in the air around her. She closed her eyes and chanted her precious words to calm her self even more. A faint residue of…something, an abnormal mind poked at her brain. "There's something here." She announced.

The rest of the team walked towards her as she floated down to the ground. Robin was the first to be by her side, "What is it?"

"I can't really describe it," she began, "it's something…abnormal."

"Well what's normal about any of this?" Beast Boy huffed, having reverted to his human form.

Robin, eager for any new information, ignored the changeling's remark, "Abnormal in what way?"

Raven shook her head, "I can't describe something I've never experienced before." She almost snapped at the young leader, the smell and the mental sensation irritating her senses. "We should try other locations where the victims were found."

With a nod, Robin ordered the Titans to head south to the slums, the last place a victim was found only three days ago.

ooooooo

In the other side of town, a mother lied on the kitchen floor drowning in her own pool of blood. The sound of a young girl, not passed the double digits, sat crying beside her. Tiny pyjamas soaked up a considerable amount of the now cold red liquid, and dirty blond hair stuck to her cheeks by the drying blood that splattered on her. A stuffed toy horse, still held in her tiny hand was half stained in crimson.

"Cute button nose, hazel eyes…blonde hair. I swear I don't get what people see in blondes." A man, clad in a completely black business suit, save for red gloves, shook his head to his equally black-suited partner only wearing white gloves.

"It's the client's order, and what they want, they get." White-gloves kneeled down and held the girl's chin between his fingers. She looked so small compared to his massively broad body. Even red-gloves seemed lanky next to him. Impossibly wide eyes stared up at him, frozen in her place with fear. "I know what you mean though. Give me coal black hair any day."

"The kind that just melts in your hands…" Red-gloves continued, imagining a small child's ebony hair tangled by his hand. He sifted his gloved hand through his own black hair which was the same colour as his partner's. But while his was stylized to be spiked, white-gloves had his styled smoothly back. "We need a new playmate, bro. Our current toy isn't as good as it used to be."

"Yeah yeah," the older brother responded, "but business before pleasure." He inhaled the air saturated by the metallic stench of blood, "Smell that? She's already at her peak."

Red-gloves leaned down towards the girl, sniffing the air with his mind, red eyes devouring the child. "Very delish." He licked his lips to emphasize the point. The little girl cried even more if it were possible, and still did not dare to move.

The fear exuded from her made his stomach growl even more, and as it fuelled him, it gave him the latch to hang on to as he widened the window to fear and allow more terror into the girl's mind.

A paralyzing feeling of mortification slapped her in the face and she began to scream. "Hey hey! Don't over do it!" White-gloves chided his brother. Quickly, his gloved hand covered her mouth as he willed another door to open in her mind. A soft mist slithered its way inside and the girl stopped screaming. Eyelids felt heavier and heavier, until they felt like bricks and she fell into a deep sleep. "Don't want to break the merchandise before we get paid."

The red-gloved man just shrugged with a goofy grin on his face, "Sorry, it just tasted so good. But," he stood up, "not that good. They just give up too easily nowadays."

White-gloves quirked an eyebrow, "Is that a bad thing? We have a city full of scared-shitless kids now and demand has never been better."

"Yeah but I miss the challenge. You know, to spice up the menu."

The older brother shook his head, his silver eyes shining an amused glow, "You have a sweet tooth, ya know that Tom?" Shaking his head, he lifted the girl in his arms, leaving behind the dead mother and the stuffed horse. "How about we go for a drink and light dinner after we take this package home? My treat."

The red-gloved man grinned at the thought of wine and chardonnay, "You know you're too good to me, Jack."

ooooooo

"It's almost non-existent, too much time has passed." Raven floated above the water of the city's main sewage canal where the first victim was reported.

Cyborg crossed his arms, "But whatever it is, you've felt the same at the other sites?" He received a nod to answer his question.

"I try to follow the mental trail, but I keep hitting a wall. Someone is covering another's trail." Raven joined the titans on the ground still trying to penetrate whatever it was she was following.

"No foreign bodily fluids, no fingerprints or even a single hair, even psychic…whatevers being blocked…" Cyborg listed out loud, "It's obvious they don't want to be found but…"

Beast Boy was standing just behind Cyborg since they arrived to the sewers. The memory of that nightmare was still fresh in his head. "But if they're taking such measures to hide themselves, they why do they keep leaving the bodies where they can be found by anybody?"

Starfire kept her fists glowing vibrant green, lighting the tunnel as brightly as she could. She and the others were on the same line of thought that the changeling voiced out loud. "What does this all mean?"

Robin glared at the spot the child's body was found, subsided the anger and shiver that crawled at the back of his neck. "It means," he started, turning to the group, "whoever is doing this _want_ the bodies to be found."

Just then their alarms sprang to life in unison, and they rushed off to a crime in progress.

ooooooo

Finishing the last drop of red wine, the brothers relaxed into their chairs with their jobs complete for the night. The Lounge, as the bar was called, catered only the finest vintages of wine to those who could afford its hefty price tag.

"'77 Fronseca," Tom savoured the last drop on his tongue, "though I still say the '94s are still better."

Jack smirked, "There's just no pleasing you is there." He laid a couple of hundred dollar bills for the wine and appetizers. Red eyes hidden behind dark shades, he nodded to their waitress to pick up the bill.

And scurried she did to their table. No more than twenty years old he thought. She was a pretty little thing, round face white as porcelain, with lips red as pomegranate juice. He was fond of that shade of red and it very well seemed the management knew his favouritism to the girl. Whenever the brothers came to the Lounge, she would be there to serve them as he would always leave an obscenely generous tip at the end of their meals for her. "Thank you again for your wonderfully kind services, my lady." He softly lifted her hand and gently kissed the back of it.

She giggled with a splash of pink decorating her cheeks and scurried off again with the money in hand.

Tom rolled his eyes with a grunt, "A real lady killer, aren't you?"

"Now now, Thomas. There's always time to be a gentleman." He used his younger brother's proper name whenever he was reprimanding him or anger flared.

The younger just shook his head with a smile, "C'mon, I need a smoke."

Both left the bar as bartenders and waitresses bowed after their valued customers. Despite their popularity at the bar the brothers did not abuse their status with ignoring the no smoking rule. They walked down the street in the cool night wearing their shades, sharing a match as both lit their cigarettes.

"So seeing as how we have the next couple of days off," Jack started, "What should we do?"

Tom sighed, "Well, as much as I'd love to just stay home and play this and that, I want something fresh."

The older brother was about to respond when a loud explosion caught their attention. Jack only raised an eyebrow, and tilted his head towards the noise looking at this brother, who promptly nodded.

Jack lightly held Tom's arm as an invisible air gathered beneath their feet. They catapulted to the roof of the nearest building and ran leaping from rooftop to rooftop with the same invisible power pushing them on.

Another explosion, this time right below the building they landed on forced them to a stop. They walked to the edge and looked down to the street thirty stories below. Six figures littered the road, what obviously looked like five against one—only the one seemed to have reinforcements in the form of telephone poles and street lamps come alive.

"The famous Teen Titans." Jack commented, taking a casual puff from his cigarette.

"Them?" Tom mocked whilst dropping his cigarette to focus on the battle below, "Just kids in bad costumes is all they are. They forgot Halloween ends in—" Suddenly, he felt an invisible wall surround them both. "Bro, what?"

The elder brother only tilted his chin down to the street, "See the girl wearing the hood? Empath."

Tom nodded, understanding the simple explanation. "Can I just take a peak though?"

Jack sighed, "Alright, but avoid the hooded one alright?"

Red-gloves playfully elbowed his brother, "Hey, I'm not a rookie."

Jack just smirked, and concentrated on the wall around them to allow only Tom's thoughts to permeate. The younger brother outstretched his mind, tasting the aroma of anger and frustration…and…what's this? Was this a linger of fear he smelled?

Excited, he moved farther and farther down to the scene of the battle. Avoiding Raven, he went from Titan to Titan. Yes, they all had a sliver of fear embedded into them, and he could feel that it was the natural, instinctive kind not the one brought about by battle.

He slipped his mind's fingers around Cyborg's, feeling only half of things—half of the fear, half of the aggression, half of humanity. _This won't do at all_, he thought to himself. Half of anything wouldn't satisfy his hunger. And it was alright with him since he preferred smaller toys and knew his brother leaned towards that taste too.

Green bolts of light caught his attention and set his sights upon a strangely pigmented girl with a nicely shaped body. He tried to slip into her mind, and although he could taste the basic emotions, her mind was too chaotic and foreign to him. Jack sensed his brother's displeasure, "That's probably the alien of the group. Don't bother."

Tom grunted in response, but found something much to his taste. He spotted a green skinned boy, with a body structure much to his liking. "The green one, Beast Boy is it?" The emotions were clearer and more abundant in this one. He felt it was obvious he was the youngest one of the group, both physically and mentally. It was vibrant raw fear that lingered in the boy and how it make red-gloves' skin tingle in delight. "Now there's something I can really sink my teeth into—GAH!"

Suddenly the sensation of an emotional cocktail was ripped from his brain like being torn from a respirator. He looked back down to the green boy and only saw an equally green lion in his place.

"Animals," Jack knelt beside his brother, "great. Just when I thought we had a new…" He didn't bother to finish his sentence as his eyes settled on a blur of red, black and green jumping from pole to pole.

"Titans! Get that remote!"

Elder brother could hear the object of his sight order the team. "Ah, now an interesting fellow. I believe they call him 'Robin.'" His eyes didn't let go of the ebony hair and the way the fabric of his costume clung to him like second skin.

Tom watched the same silently, licking his lips as he didn't feel a wall to block him, and even felt a seed of fear within the boy. Not as obvious as the green one but still there and ready to take root. "Finally, a normal human being…" He removed his shades to expose his hungry red eyes to the boy, "And a pretty one at that…" He smiled at the prospect, the ideas flowing through his brain made him salivate, "_Once I saw a little bird..._"

"…_come hop, hop, hop._" Jack finished. He could already feel his brother's eyes laying claim on the treasure below. "But he's not a push over like the others, Tom. This one…" He paused a bit as he watched the boy back kicked a monstrous pole behind him, leg outstretched revealing the length of his body. "…might be harder to crack."

"Like I said," Tom only smiled, his voice a tone of a child in a candy store where everything was free for him to take, "spice up the menu."

* * *

Since it was less than obvious, the Titans were battling Control Freak who brought the telephone and light poles to life. 

Honestly, I don't know why I ended up writing this. Depression & anger & needing an outlet equals bad, bad writing I'm fully aware I'll get bombed with flames, but please, if you have the time to fuck me off for being a horrible person, then you might as well leave constructive reviews with the flame to help un-horrify myself.

Till next time,  
Art of Silence  



	2. Zum Gali Gali Gali

**Please read the warnings, notes and disclaimer in Chapter 1 if you have not done so before continuing.**

A thank you to those for leaving a review.  
And a thank you to those who have read this but left no review (I'm like that, myself :)

2: Zum Gali Gali Gali

With the last turn to the left, landing on the number twenty-three, the door to the safe clicked open. A grey, gloved hand reached inside moving past the jewellery and bundled up bills of too much money only to pull out a book. He quickly flipped through the pages of rows of names and numbers to make sure it was the right one he was searching for.

He heard faint footsteps approaching the luxurious office he was in and quickly closed the private safe. With a flick of a switch on his belt, the figure clad in black featuring a skull-like mask faded out to the naked eye. But the book was exposed for all to see. Footsteps became louder and eyeing the bookcase behind him, he slid the text into an empty slot. As the door knob to the room turned he made his way behind the nearest curtain directly beside the bookcase, just in case the belt he had to had to build from scratch decided to fail on him at the wrong time.

The door swung open. "And it was worth every penny, Leonard. Professionals to the very end, they are."

"But boss," the thief deduced this was Leonard speaking, "it's treading on dangerous territory…" The man seemed very nervous to the point of paranoia.

"Bah," the boss refuted, "they've guaranteed anonymity with their merchandise and they have yet to fail me. Nothing will be traced to me."

The subject in discussion was unknown to the thief, but it did perk his interest. Sliding his hand to his belt, he silently pressed a switch to initiate a recording. Maybe there was a bonus to his payment for extra blackmail goodies.

Leonard, a tall and terribly thing fellow for his height, nervously rubbed his hands together. Eyes darted left and right as if he felt he was being watched by the walls. "But…Christ, she's just a little kid, boss…"

"I did not hire you to _think_, Leonard." The boss' voice became dangerously low having run out of patience with his underling. "I hired you to _do_ and do you shall. Get the girl ready for me in five minutes. I must make a phone call."

The subordinate stared down at his shoes. He knew what that tone meant. If he didn't do his job, he wouldn't live to see the light of next morn. "R-right away boss…" It was his survival instincts that told him to be obedient. But he hated what his boss did, and if he knew that his "hobby" was of this disgusting nature, he would have never joined the circle of criminals. Not that he had made a name for himself after getting in, quite the opposite. But for the un-privilege, it was a tempting escape route. Praying to God in his mind to forgive him of his sins, Leonard meekly left the room.

The thief heard the click of the door closing. The topic being implied in their little exchange was something he did not want to hear. A thief he may be but he had his morals too—no matter how warped and hypocritical they may be to some. He heard the chatter of buttons being pushed; obviously the boss was making that phone call.

"Hello? This is the Duke, calling for Jack."

The thief sighed to himself. He might just knock the boss down himself if he had to wait behind the curtain like an amateur any longer. Taking control of his boredom, he listened in on one side of the conversation.

"Jack? My dear, Jack! I want to say I am very pleased with the quality of the product you delivered." A moment of silence lapsed as the person on the other side of the phone chattered. "Yes…yes yes, my regards to Tom as well. But I've not only called for a recreational chat.

"Though I'm afraid I'm making myself sound too greedy, I would like to order another one." Listening to the answer, the Duke slowly formed a smile until a full blown belly laugh released, "Oh you are definitely good in making your customers comfortable, Jack…. Yes yes, I want another with the same darling blue eyes, dirty blonde hair."

The eyes behind the skull mask narrowed at the blatant use of the word "order."

"Price is not to be fretted over. I will gladly pay double if only for showing my appreciation for your excellent services. Yes it doesn't matter where she's from. Another from Jump City will be fine." He listened to the man on the other line again, and obviously made a joke of some sort because another belly laugh filled the luxurious office of the boss' home. "I'll be waiting to hear from you soon, dear Jack. Good evening." And with a click, the room fell into silence again. Footsteps followed, the creak of a door opening and closing and the thief was alone once more.

Alone, but now with a sudden weight on his shoulders.

He switched off the recording, rematerialized and walked towards the original prize he was looking for at the bookshelf. If it was an isolated incident he wouldn't have given it as much though as he was now. But he heard the reports of kidnapped children, corpses and the "buzz" circulating in the criminal underworld.

He was able to ignore it—it wasn't his concern. They were just a series of unfortunate circumstances that he had learned to take in stride in the short time of his life. Nothing to lose sleep over…it was not of his problem. The phrase of "me, myself and I" was his roadmap in life. He didn't have to face things that didn't directly concern him.

But here he was, the belt holding a heavy burden of the darker side of humanity.

The book was secured in a small pouch hanging from his belt. Sighing to himself, he opened the window he had delicately disarmed of its security system and crouched on the ledge, shaking his head. There was a slight breeze. His cape, stylistically tattered at the edge, swayed under the wind's control. Jump City wasn't that far from Bludhaven. Maybe just a quick visit wouldn't hurt—after getting his reward for the account book.

All of a sudden, delivering the book to the rival warlord of this hell hole of a city seemed extra sweet this time. It would definitely leave the Duke financially paralyzed… and he almost had this sadistic wanting of having the boss physically paralyzed as well.

He never thought he'd return to Jump City so soon again after that somewhat humiliating "defeat." A thief being robbed was a distasteful irony. But wasn't so bad when the one who stole from him was unexpectedly good at it.

Another sigh escaped between the slits of his mask as the red x reflected the pale moonlight, "When did I turn soft?"

ooooooo

"And I say baked tofu, pineapple and olives with garlic!"

"Man, are you TRYING to make me throw up? Pork, steak, barbeque sauce and that's THAT!"

Back and forth Beast Boy and Cyborg argued for the coveted pizza pie the team decided to have for lunch. Starfire, Raven and Robin have long before learned that it was fairly useless to add any of their favourite toppings when those two had their same, tired argument.

The three basically tuned out the petty argument most of the time and usually talk amongst themselves. Robin's mood, however, was making conversation not related to work almost an Olympic level task.

It was still a surprise that Starfire and Beast Boy managed to pry him from his research room, especially after hearing about another kidnapping the night before when they were out trying to solve it. "Robin," Starfire placed a hand on his stiff shoulder, "you should be relaxing from the bindings of the case. It will be detrimental to you if you do not free your mind from the matter at times." She softened her criticism with a warm smile, though the leader knew she was only trying to be her caring self.

Sometimes he envied just how innocent she could be. He wasn't blind to the fact that his friends were worrying over his extra attentiveness to the current problem. Many times he would berate himself for leaving the team out of a part of his work once again. Cyborg especially had made it clear to him that they should focus on what they can do to help the city in a way they already know how, instead of wasting energy on something they had absolutely no control over.

In other words, this case was not something people their age should live and breathe day in and out on, be it super hero or a normal human being.

Robin returned the warm smile, "Sorry, you're right Star. Rest and relaxation is just what the doctor ordered."

Starfire blinked. "Who is this physical healer that recommended this sound advice to you, Robin?"

The Boy Wonder had to grin at that, "It's a figure of speech."

Green eyes blinked again, "You have many…_peculiar,_ shapes of speech that I must become accustom to in your language."

"Don't worry, Star. Even native speakers have a hard time getting used to the English language." The genuine smile didn't disappear as he turned his attention to the menu. "Actually, the way you talk is sorta refreshing."

Raven sat with her arms crossed looking at nothing in peculiar. It sounded as if Starfire finally got their young leader to be distracted away from work, but she was still on alert. The mental residue at the death sites kept her on edge especially since someone was powerful enough to block the mental energies from her. Though she admitted to herself that her empathy still needed much practice, it was stronger than the average psychic. Like Robin, she stayed up all night with the feeling plaguing her, until the only word she could replace the description of "abnormal" was fear. Fear left by, obviously, the victims, but there was something more to it. Like a new level of fear, maybe mortification was the correct word.

But it wasn't just the previous night's excursion that kept her on edge though she dare not show it externally. She reserved extra hours for meditation recently. Unofficially, she was labelled the "dark" one by the group but she too felt the strings of terror pulling on her with the wave of child victims. Emotions radiating from her team mates didn't help either.

Beast Boy was like an open book, and though Starfire openheartedly revealed her emotions, it still took a year for Raven to decipher how the alien princess' mind was different from humans. Current wave of strong emotions just helped to reveal more questions. Cyborg was definitely feeling disturbed, but understood his emotional limits to be the most stable of the group. And in times like this, it was a welcome trait by the team.

Robin, however, was almost a slate of rock to her. Raven knew he was afraid, as any sane child would be, but it was like he was programmed to lock away emotions that were not allowed in a leader, as a hero among super heroes. In many ways, she can understand that, as she had to keep certain emotions in check more than others.

But the city… Raven forced the extra hours of meditation to block herself from the city-wide stench of fear. Living everyday with the Titans, she adapted to deal with sudden surges of emotion from her very random friends. But something this concentrated of a single emotion needed extra work. The words spoken by Robin last night, of the bodies purposely being left to be found could not leave her mind.

"Raven? Are you feeling well?"

Starfire's voice shook Raven out of her thoughts, "What?"

"I was inquiring if you would like anything to drink. You had been 'out in space' for some time." Star asked in concern, with the waiter standing behind her awaiting any more orders from the group.

"Water is fine." Raven flatly answered and turned away from the other girl's eyes.

Shrugging off what others would have considered rude manners, Starfire turned to the waiter with her smile again, "Water then. Oh, and I would like a bottle of mustard, please."

The waiter just stood eyeing her, waiting for some punch line to the joke on his expense.

"And a straw as well, if it is not too much trouble." She casually added.

Now thoroughly confused, the waiter looked from the alien to the rest of the customers. All at once, minus Raven, the group gave a half smirk and shrugged their shoulders. "Um, okay… coming right up…" He swiftly turned around and head back inside from the pizza restaurant's patio.

Beast Boy stifled a giggle, "Must be a new guy."

"I do not understand why I get that look whenever I place an order for mustard. Is it that strange?" She asked in her most innocent way.

As Cyborg and Beast Boy attempted to explain to her the finer side of ordering drinks, Robin peered at Raven. "Something on your mind?"

The dark girl closed her eyes once, as if trying to be patient with an incorrigible child. "Thoughts."

"Like?" He ignored her impatient sigh. The one word replies weren't something that annoyed Robin. They were probably the only two who could keep a conversation going in that matter for a long time… if they talked for that long at all.

Finally she looked over at the Boy Wonder, "If you feel like spilling your thoughts, I'll do the same. One-sided revelations are hardly fair." With that she turned her eyes back to nothing.

Now, that was a hint. Pursing his lips, Robin ceased his questions, being spurned of offering to lend an ear. If there was one person that he knew not to push the buttons of, it was Raven.

Almost as an afterthought, Raven had the idea she used too harsh of words. Not that being strict with words bothered her as that was just the way she spoke. Being plain spiteful was a signal that she was getting irritated—even more so than usual. She mentally noted to squeeze in another hour of meditation tonight. But in an attempt to soothe the sting somewhat, "Besides, now is not the best time to talk about it when we're supposed to be relaxing."

Robin lifted a brow, not expecting the Raven-esque apology. Still, he knew he deserved it for taking in information and never giving it out freely himself. He replied with an understanding nod. Apparently he wasn't the only one with murders on their mind.

And just when the waiter was returning, still with the look of confusion on his face, an alarm set off each Titan's signal receiver. Four groaning sighs echoed the displeasure of the timing and grudgingly got out from their seats.

"But but…" Beast Boy whined as he got to the railing of the patio, "I needs ma food, yo! You'd think crooks would need to eat too!?"

Grinning, Robin patted the green teen's shoulder in mock sympathy, "Crime waits for no stomach, Beast Boy." Receiving a raspberry from the youngest Titan, Robin perched himself on the railing and removed his grappler, "Let's go, Titans!"

The waiter just froze in place watching teens fly or swing away, though a tap on the shoulder shook him out to face up to the giant Cyborg. "Could you hold on to our order? We'll be right back." He asked with a courteous grin and then proceeded to jump off the building and extended a hand to a hovering Starfire to carry him to the scene of the crime.

There the waiter stood, holding a tray of drinks and a bottle of mustard thinking, _This is what I get for dropping school._

ooooooo

"_Zum gali gali gali  
Zum gali gali"_

He hummed it and sang it like a lullaby,  
From far away watched his precious,fly.  
But his eyes so red followed the prize;  
Oh what rapture it'd be to catch his surprise.

A melody of spring caught his ear  
Eyeing the redbreast perched so near.  
A lovely gift for a lovely child,  
As red-gloves' thoughts ran giddy and wild.

"_Zum gali gali gali  
Zum gali gali"_

ooooooo

The job in Bludhaven finished up smoothly with the reward now sitting soundly in his bank account. His client was very gracious, even offering him a bountiful dinner for any extra troubles he might have gotten himself into. But the thief respectfully declined, not only for professionalism, but the idea of taking his mask off even half way in the presence of others was a ludicrous prospect. He was too attached to it now.

But Red X took the opportunity to exchange the good will of a free meal for free information. Eavesdropping on the Duke's "hobby" had hooked on his brain by then, much to his chagrin. Instead of playing towards the topic with gift wrapped words, X went straight to the point. While that may not have been a wise decision with most organized gang leaders, the skull-masked read up on his client before taking the job to devoid of any possibilities of backstabbing.

The "Hierarch," as he called himself, seemed generally outraged when he mentioned what X overheard. He had a daughter of his own, now in her twenties as he explained, and he would never dream of laying such acts on a child. But the thief was nodding off as the Hierarch raged on about the chastity of children and especially his daughter. It was after the speech that X finally got information, thought nothing revolutionary.

It seems the word on the street was the recent trade of "merchandise" was well established in Bludhaven along within Gotham, and Jump City was the newest addition. But the crime lord did not have knowledge of whom and the whereabouts of the traders. As if to make up for the lack of knowledge, he made it more than crystal clear that the Duke will be paying a very hefty price as he shook the account book in his hand.

Red X merely grunted, half disinterested in details that didn't concern directly to his needs. Promises in the criminal underworld held little weight; it was action that dictated one's reputation. Though gathering information on a sex trade didn't match his style either.

Perhaps, it was genuine sympathy that worked into his head as he knew the hardships of street life. And he also knew he must have been going crazy with boredom—since the day he met the original owner of the suit. Now that was a fun time. A new thrill in form of a challenge both in skill and mentality was just too rare nowadays.

That night he left Bludhaven, not bothering to sleep.

By mid afternoon, Red X arrived in Jump City. Though he would have hoped to have met the Titans, or specifically, their leader under different circumstances, the information sitting in his belt was not going to leave his head. Once again he easily managed to infiltrate into the Titans Tower security, but to his annoyance no one was around.

He thought about just leaving the small disk containing the information behind, maybe a note attached to it. But knowing that would be one of the dumbest moves to make, he opted to skip the waiting and search the streets himself.

A perfectly, lovely Saturday being wasted on finding the little justice troop… Sometimes he hated having a conscience, and hated it more when he actually cared enough to listen to it.

ooooooo

"That," Cyborg chomped on his sixth extra-meaty pizza slice before continuing, "was the fastest win we ever had."

Raven sipped her cup of water, while only a small bite off her slice was the only sign she was eating. "Who would have thought the most deadly weapon of all is Beast Boy's stomach."

"Hey, a growing boy's gotta do what he's gotta do." Beast Boy savoured the tofu accentuated by the pineapple juice. "When hunger strikes, never stand between a teen and his food."

Robin gulped his piece, who was the only one who dared to eat the changeling's unique choice of toppings, "No kidding. I thought you were actually going to swallow the guy alive."

"Well, it wouldn't technically be called cannibalism if I took a bite as an alligator, would it?" A mischievous grin crept onto the green face.

The half-robot peered uneasily at the smaller teen, "Remind me not to be stuck on a deserted island with you."

While the boys joked around in their usual manner, Raven, ever the dark mistress, couldn't help but stare at Starfire's unusual enjoyment of her unusual drink. Her face remained solid as stone, but it was hard not to look. More than half the patrons at the restaurant were—though it could also be there were five super heroes eating amongst them.

The Titans leader caught the raised eyebrow of the dark girl, and following her line of sight. Like her, he found he just had to stare as well. He didn't mean to be rude but in some ways it was pretty amusing to watch. Soon, the other two looked from the two distracted Titans to Starfire when it became obvious they weren't listening.

"Man, no matter how many bottles she goes through, I still can't get used to it." Beast Boy commented.

Happily drinking her mustard after finishing her portion of pizza, Stafire finally noticed the group's eyes upon her. A sensitive blush already formed on her already pink cheeks, "Oh, I am sorry. I have neglected my manners. Would you like some?" She held out the bottle with the straw out to her team mates whom all responded with a prompt and resounding "NO."

"I don't know how you can drink that straight up, Star. It's almost worst as BB's culinary taste." Cyborg added looking as if he would gag. "Next, you'll be drinking ketchup from tap."

"Actually," the alien sipped what sounded like the last of the yellow condiment, "a mixture of mustard and ketchup was quite exhilarating to the taste buds. Even more so with a scoop of iced cream floating at the top like those served in cafes in the movies."

The pizza in Cyborg's hand slipped from his fingers, "A mustchup milkshake?! That's it, no more for today." His previous hankering for the meat-heaven pizza just made him feel ill.

The changeling just sat with his mouth opened and whispering out loud to the others. "I tell you, she's going to own at frat parties…"

"Right…" Robin said in the same disheartened manner as Cyborg as his own appetite suddenly flew away. "Let's try not to encourage that." The meaning behind that statement was left to be filled in by the others. "We should be getting back to the Tower anyway." He raised his hand calling for the waiter, requesting the bill and left over pizza to be packaged.

The group chatted and laughed about nothing and everything like any group of teens would. Five minutes later, the waiter returned with a single pizza box in one hand and the cheque in the other.

Raven took the receipt as Cyborg received the flat box. She scanned the small sheet and casually placed it in front of Beast Boy.

The changeling looked up in confusion, "I thought it was your turn?"

"I paid last time." The dark mistress answered with navy eyes staring down the young teen.

Beast Boy shifted back in his seat knowing that look meant not to argue with her. But that never stopped him, "No, _I_ paid last time! I think…"

"No," Cyborg added with a grin, "you were short on cash so Raven paid last time so that you'd pay this time."

"Oh, right…" Beast Boy felt a sweat drop down his temple. "Uh, I think I left my wallet in my other spandex?" His hands padded his own belt and waist to emphasize his lack of financial funds. Raven rolled her eyes while Cyborg shook his head with a smile.

Hoping for charity, the green teen morphed into a too large-eyed kitten so petit that he would have fit into his large friend's metal hand. "Oh no, you still owe me for lending you money." Cyborg pushed the kitty to the middle of the table to get those two adorable eyes out of site. Though he didn't really expect the youngest Titan to repay him since he would gladly leave it as helping out a friend, he thought a little responsibility would help tighten the youngster's aloofness.

But, failing to extract help from Cyborg, Beast Boy started to appeal to the girls. Or rather, to Starfire since Raven's answer was written all over her face. He pawed his way up to the alien, releasing a single mew and batting his eyes.

"Ohhhh!" Starfire scooped kitty boy in her hands and hugged him against her cheek, "I can never refuse such eyes round and soft as the magnificent morglock!" Slowly, she lowered the kitten to the table with eyes too dreary for a situation like this. "But I also did not bring monetary notes since I did not expect to pay for today's meal. I am sorry Beast Boy." Watching the tiny ears droop, she couldn't help but scratch behind them to help make the boy feel better.

Thus it became painfully obvious who had to pay for the day's lunch out. "Alright alright, I'll pay for today, Beast Boy." Robin offered with a sigh; the things he had to do as leader.

Ears perked instantly and the kitten jumped right onto Robin, who with his excellent reflexes caught the feline before he landed on his face. A cacophony of purrs streamed from the green kitten as he rubbed his head against the red-clad chest. The others sniggered at the sight except for Raven, whose only evidence of finding amusement with the scene was her arching brow.

Robin couldn't keep his annoyance in the forefront as he broke into a smile at the small bundle of fur. "You're welcome." He plopped the kitty down to the table and the feline became human again.

Grinning back, Beast Boy leapt off the table. "I owe ya, fearless leader." He playfully tapped a fist to his current saviour's arm.

The Boy Wonder returned in kind, only adding, "Worry about it AFTER you pay back Cyborg." That got him a sheepish, toothy smirk. The implied lesson on responsibility wasn't lost on those pointed ears. "You guys go on ahead." Green gloves fished for cash in one of his pouches on his belt while the other reached for the bill. The troop took the suggestion and they headed back into the interior of the pizza restaurant and make their way to the exit downstairs.

Taking a glance again to the bill again, he made sure the total was correct. When it came to food it always totalled above average financially, as they would usually customize what was on the menu. It's a wonder how restaurants had the patience for the five unique teens.

Just when Robin foraged sufficient funds plus tip to set on the piece of paper, the waiter who had put up with the group's antics arrived. "Sorry I forgot this was left for…" The taller waiter checked the tiny parcel in his hand again, "for 'Robin' it says. Is that you?"

Mentally noting the guy really was new to the city, the Titans' leader simply nodded. But the curiosity of the packaged wrapped in plain brown packing paper with a ribbon pecked at him more. He took the box held out by the waiter noticing that there was no "from" written anywhere on the box or on the gift tag attached to the thin strip of red ribbon. "Did the person leave a name?"

"Nope, the guy just said he was an admirer of you for all your work. He asked me to give it to you. I guess he came around after you guys came back. Sorry about that, Saturday's a busy day 'n all."

Robin waved away the excuse, understanding that they were not the sole customers of the place. However, he did write that certain detail on a fresh page on his mental notebook, "Admirer…?"

Despite what would have been thought as natural, the Titans were not people-parading-the-streets-in-their- honour popular, more like the city saw them as a special extension to the police. It was the closest thing the teens could receive from the city as accepting them as normal citizens.

Still, the curious detective side of Robin probed the package. "Do you remember what the person looked like?"

The waiter scratched his head recalling amidst serving close to twenty people, "Um, black business suit and sunglasses, I think. Hair's the same colour. Though I remember for sure he had red gloves on." And as if compelled to add his opinion, he continued, "Personally I thought he was kinda strange…"

Robin had to agree with that conclusion. Business suit alluded that the "admirer" was most likely an adult and the colour coordination didn't help the image either. "Hmm, well, thanks for the delivery, and for putting up with our quirks." He hid his puzzlement behind the simpering expression and pushed the payment towards the other.

A call from another table of patrons caught the teen waiter's attention and acknowledged he heard. "Not a problem," he replied to Robin, "I admit, at first I thought I should find a new job, but it was pretty interesting to meet you guys." The waiter genuinely smiled back and pocketed the payment in the front of his uniform, gesturing that he had to get to that other table. But he didn't forget the generous extra cash for his services that was left for him, "Thanks for the tip!" He waved and returned to his job.

Setting the light box on the table, and going against sound, common sense to not accept things from a stranger—especially one with that description—Robin pulled the red ribbon to easily untie the bow. He had to admit the cursive writing on the gift tag was the most elegant he had seen yet. Beneath the thin, paper skin was a peach coloured box. He lifted the lid.

If he didn't have the years of experience supporting him, he would have faltered back.

Inside was a white piece of folded paper, one corner of it soaked in red. The source of the red stain pooled at the bottom of the box, draining from a single bird's wing. Feathers were brown like tree bark, yet revealed a tint of red when the light hit it just right from absorbing its own blood. A piece of ragged-edged bone protruding from where the wing should be attached to a body indicated it was pulled off the unfortunate animal. It was obvious it was freshly dismembered as not all of the blood dried up to form a mock scab on the surface of the box.

He stared at the gruesome gift, his mask crinkling to wrinkled skin, repelled by the sight. Analytical Robin already set up questions he would need to answer to discover the message wrapped with the wing, and the ultimate goal behind it. Adolescent Robin hid behind the mask of the Analytical, rightfully disturbed with one question of why he received such a thing.

Adolescent just wanted to step away, but Analytical had the reigns to the boy's mind, as it always had for the most of Robin's career.

Returning his face to a neutral expression, he reached in the box and took out the stained paper. Slowly he opened it as if one hasty move would detonate it like a bomb. But all there was scribbled on paper was a map, one that he instantly recognized the location it was pointing to. Below the sub-par map were words that made his mask narrow in suspicion. The broken wing became a possible key to a piece to the current problem city-wide problem.

_Come alone or come not at all,  
If you're curious to know what girls and boys are made of_

"Yo, Robin!"

Boy Wonder almost jumped at the sudden voicing of his name. Quickly he stuffed the note back in the box and turned around, keeping the gift behind him.

"We've been waiting for five minutes! Don't have enough to pay or something?" Beast Boy was standing on the ledge of the building, "Everyone's in the T-car."

"Sorry," Robin coolly answered, "I'll come back on my own later. Something that needs my attention came up." His body posture betrayed nothing of the new information grating in his veins.

The changeling sighed, "All work and no play make Robin a cranky-angst boy." He didn't ask details, as he knew the drill when it came to his workaholic leader. "Gonna be back soon or should I tell the gang your scheduled tactics meeting is dropped?"

After a beat, Robin answered with a slow "no." He eyed the green youngster making sure he didn't suspect anything, "I'll be back in time."

"Alright. Later!" With that Beast Boy flipped backwards morphing into a hawk and dove down to the rest of the group.

Waiting moments for anymore distractions to appear, Robin turned his attention back to the note.

Closing the lid, he headed off to find the piece to the puzzle.

* * *

The story is creeping along, and I might be slow with updates too, unfortunately. Some personal demands I need to pay attention to. 

Please be patient with me,  
-Art of Silence


	3. How Do You Do?

**Please read the warnings, notes and disclaimer in Chapter 1 if you have not done so before continuing.**

Thank you very much for your generous reviews. And to Mistress of Chibis, I'm glad the characterization is upto par since that is one of my main goals for this story. Though I personally feel this chapter is too long-winded, I hope I can can consistently meet or exceed everyone's standards in future installments.

I also apologize for the tardyness of this chapter. I'm letting my mood dictate when to continue writing and school has reopened as well so updates will be on the slow side.

Lastly, since I have only watched up to the "Revolution" episode, all the events up to that episode have occured for this story. But the Brother Blood arc will most likely be not mentioned or ignored.

**Note:** Entire paragraphs in _italic_ is describing the psychological realm (it'll be clear in the chapter...I think).

Chapter 2 and 3 not beta read.

* * *

3: How Do You Do?

"Remember, we only have today and tomorrow off, then straight back to work."

"I know, I know. Little Redbreast will be caught by then. Though, two days is hardly enough time to tease properly. A week or so would be more appropriate."

"That may be, little brother, but work before pleasure."

"Just let me finish up this ribbon. Presentation sets the mood and all that. "

"Presentations, angles, close-ups… I gotta say, with a camera, you have an artistic flair."

"Heh, maybe I should have been a photographer. But where's the fun in watching when you can't touch?"

oooooo

Piled up inside the T-car, Cyborg drove just slightly over the city speed limit. Usually he would have had to stick to the limit but the watchdog named Robin wasn't in the car with them. He could be incredibly anal sometimes over trifle little things and sounded hypocritical when the group was, in essence, vigilantes. But Cyborg didn't drive more than an extra 10km/h; they still had to uphold an example of at least moderately abiding the law.

And of course, they were teens and everyone knows teens have the uncanny instinct to speed anything and everything up.

"Maybe we should go back and help Robin with whatever it is he needs to look after?" Starfire inquired for what could have been the fifth time.

Beside her, Beast Boy in dog form had his head out the window as the slobber drizzled from his tongue. Hearing Star's comment again he stuck his head back and morphed to normal. "C'mon mommy Star, you know he'll have a spazz-attack if we follow him." The little nickname he implanted wasn't lost on anyone as the other two knew how maternal the alien could be with any of them sometimes.

"It took us weeks before we stopped mother henning him after that freak chemical attack." Cyborg almost growled at the thought of that incident. Even with Slade being only in his mind, how the hell Robin managed to mangle himself like that reminded him how extraordinary the Boy Wonder really was. "He still wants to know he can take care of himself. Besides, after putting up with us worrying over him, he probably wants private brooding time."

"But that was for his benefit." Starfire countered. "He understood that so he let us help at least until his wounds had healed. And with him so eagerly delving into the current crimes—"

"Take it from me Star," Cyborg stopped the car waiting for the green light, "if you pull the leash on a teen too tight, they're going to bite back ten-fold. I remember when my parents wouldn't even let me go on a _bus_ to get to school on my own. And this was when I was fourteen! It's was years of hell for me before the accident." The light turned green, and the T-Car was on the move again. "Gotta give teens some room or they'll never ask help. Common sense tends to be buried along with the kid by worry when it comes to family."

"But…" Starfire started but didn't continue on. It was because the Titans were very much her second family that she did not want to see any of them suffer. Yet, the half-robot's words did ring true. She would remember being angry with her over-protective Nana when he wouldn't let her even leave the palace until she was of proper age due to her royalty. When she finally found freedom, she had gotten into much trouble due to her eagerness and ignorance of the world. But it was also how she learned to ask for help instead of expecting help to be handed to her. She learned the value of humility on her own—the only way it can be truly understood.

With her care for the other Titans, she felt she finally understood why her Nana was both proud and sad of her gain of independence.

The youngest teen lay his hand on Star's arm, "Hey, as stuck up prissy-boy he can be sometimes, he's the one who usually busts _our_ butts out of trouble. Right, Raven?"

Raven, sitting in the passenger seat next to Cyborg listened quietly to the others as she watched the city go by through the window. There were people going about their daily jobs, mothers walking with their children, trucks rushing off to make their deliveries on time. It was a continuous scene of random portrayals of normal lives just passing the teens by. "He has his communicator with him. He'll call if he needs help." _If his arrogance won't get in the way_, she added to herself. The boy's want of—need of—being able to stand on his own amongst them seemed irrational to her. It was especially so since no one questioned his skills except in life or death situations, and that was the same for everyone. Control-perfectionists always did puzzle her.

Starfire nodded, half assured. These past months had seen the group go through problems and changes that have affected them in the long term. Perhaps that was scraping the back of her mind all this time. Friends come and gone, new faces on the wrong side of justice, and the old faces that just wouldn't go away.

"Hey Cyborg, stop at the next corner would ya?" Beast Boy eyed a small floral shop at the oncoming corner.

Raven eyed the goal the other was looking at. With her mind caught in the web of external emotions and meditation, she nearly forgot about the bi-weekly visit. "I thought you said you had no cash." She stated it as fact instead of question.

The car came to a stop at the corner in front of a floral shop. All four Titans stepped out of the vehicle with Beast Boy practically jumping out of the window.

"I don't…well not for me anyways. I mean, for luxuries 'n stuff…ya know?" The changeling hesitantly stuttered.

"Yeah yeah, whatever romance boy," Cyborg waved, "go and get it before all the good ones are sold out." He leaned against the car with a smile on his face.

"Do you mind if I help with the selection, Beast Boy?" The alien chirped.

Beast Boy nodded, gesturing with a hand to come with him. He leapt into the flower shop with Starfire floating behind to pick another perfect flower for the next visit to Terra's grave.

ooooooo

Below the building he crouched upon were the heroes he was searching for, minus one. Two left the car heading inside the building across from his twenty-third story perspective while the remaining two waited by the car.

Maybe it was a better idea to approach the four goody two-shoes than to wait for their ring leader to arrive. After all, Robin must have been the most wound up, one-way focused, loves-to-be-right teenager that he had ever met. He wouldn't be gullible enough to gamble having faith in a criminal again. But then it wouldn't be as fun as poking the bird for amusement even for a little while. The others seemed they would give in too easily to his sugar-coated words.

Red X sighed. The last thing he wanted to do was scour the streets anymore than he had to when there was no potential profit. He could be resting in a comfy, luxurious hotel after a hard night's work right now. Then again, he did that when he was bored—and he had been bored since losing the original belt freshly powered with xynothium.

The thief stood up, rubbing the side of his head with a gloved hand. Again he questioned his recent behaviour as he sprinted off to the opposite direction the Titans drove from.

oooooo

Robin used the express way of rooftops to arrive to reach destination which just happened to be located at the less reputable part of the city. A district once bustling with business and entertainment was now a haven for drugs and crime. It was the area where the city would try to sweep its less glamorous side under the carpet. But families who could only afford less than standard homes lived here, living with what they had.

He passed by some houses with mothers and fathers watching over their children as the youngsters played in the back yard. Few were seen at the neighbourhood playground and the play equipment and small buildings with bullet holes explained why. Pity for them was ejected years ago. Instead, he understood just how dauntless people can be to live out their lives the best they can even in a place where walking was dangerous. There was more to be appreciated than pitied and gave him all the more reason to continue his work.

Flying by from top to top, the Boy Wonder landed on the building across from an old toy factory. The square that was circled in red indicated this was where he was supposed to be. Doors and windows were haphazardly boarded up with wooden planks, and the giant cracks in the walls didn't help it look of study. Various giant letters at the rooftop that would have spelled out a company's name were missing due to part of the roof having collapsed. But the giant teddy bear model was surprisingly in good condition compared to the building beneath it. Graffiti decorated the walls but that too was fading. All indications pointed that very few had visited this place for a long time.

Knowing full well this could be—or rather blatantly was—a trap, his masked eyes scoured the perimeter. Almost fifteen minutes had elapsed and there was no sign of life, not even a flutter of birds or a buzz of insects. Slowly, with a grapple latched onto the toy factory, Robin swung his way down at the base of the building and left behind the box with the wing at the rooftop. Quickly, he took under the cover of shadows made by the building as the sun started to set in the west. More minutes passed and still no sign of anyone.

Taking an extra dose of caution, Robin crept along the wall until he reached the main entrance. Its doors were wide open, but, no sign of life. He pried his head around the frame of the door. Light poured in from where ever the sun could stream its rays through the windows and the gaping hole in the roof. Machinery left to rust lay dormant with gears and tools sprawled across the floor. With the amount of dust built up, it looked as if nothing was disturbed.

That is, except for another box wrapped in brown paper in the middle of the building under a natural spotlight below the hole in the roof.

Never relaxing his guard, his legs lead him to the parcel. He didn't _feel_ any presence around him, but he remained alert.

Deliberately, the Titan picked up the box, somewhat heavier than before. There was nothing written on it this time. He pulled the red ribbon knot, and the same coloured box just as previous was revealed. Unconsciously, he held his breath and opened the lid.

And he discovered just what species the wing was from.

The rest of the unfortunate bird, a robin missing only its single wing, lay dead inside. Its beak was partially open, likely from gasping for breath in its last moments. The red chest was intensified by the blood leaking from the wound. A round, black eye was staring right back at him and he couldn't help but feel it was screaming to him a warning.

Accompanied with the bird was a white envelope, this time not as stained with blood as most of it was absorbed by the dead feathers.

Trying not to stare at the animal and its silent message as he left it back on the floor, he took the envelope. With nothing on the sealed side, he turned it over to the front where addresses would usually be written.

His mask narrowed at the lyrical words. Instead of an address, there was a rhyme:

_Little Robin Redbreast  
Sat upon a rail.  
Niddle, naddle went his head;  
Wiggle, waggle went his tail_.

A nursery rhyme… and it sounded vaguely like what his mother used to croon to him when he was very young. However, the words failed to give rise to security his mother's voice used to make. As he read over those words again, and down to the bird, the tremor from before sprouted in his spine.

But he'd be damned if he'll be intimidated by nameless bastards who get a kick out of scaring the young. Robin squashed the tremor, and defiantly opened the envelope…

…only to discover whether he should be freaked out of the bird, or the contents of the envelope.

Four polaroids of him nestled inside. One by one he looked, and with each look his eyes began to widen. The Titan looped though four times to finally understand the connection of the rhyme to the photos.

The first photo was of him smiling to Starfire at the restaurant.

The second was of him perched at the patio's banister just after the team received an emergency call.

The third was of him fighting the criminals, a too up close shot of his face frozen in the heat of battle.

The fourth was of him…the back side of him, where the body part was often nicknamed the "tail" was magnified as his kick crushed the criminal's hand of his gun.

His mouth hanged open.

These…were taken today…within the hour…while eating with his friends… He was being watched.

_Intimately_ watched.

Hands slowly lowered with the photos almost slipping from his fingers. Though the lack of light made it difficult to tell, the colour in his cheeks ran away from the images. He eyed the dead bird again. Now the eye looked as if saying,"_I told you so."_

Suddenly a musical note stuck the air. Startled by the abrupt noise, Robin turned around while reaching and extending his staff in one motion. The photos fell to the floor as his attention centered on the sound. Adrenaline willed away the fear he could never admit and instead filled his veins with aggression as he always trained himself to do.

A figure stood with his hands in his pockets at the entrance of the factory. His hair was short and black with equally dark suit and sunglasses. A faint melody echoed the interior. It took a moment for Robin to figure out the man was whistling. _London Bridge is Falling Down,_ he named the melody in his head. "Stay where you are!" His voice broke through the whistle, but didn't sound as intrepid as it should have been.

"Aw, little Redbreast, is that how you say thank you to your admirer?" The man bared his teeth in a smile much too polite. "I thought you would like the pretty bird."

"Redbreast" wasn't too pleased with the nickname. "Who are you? Why did you send me that sick—" The step the stranger took cut off his words. In response, Robin tightened his hold on his staff and pointed it squarely at the stranger's head. "I said, stay where you are!"

The smile didn't fade as a red-gloved hand rose from a pocket and adjusted his sunglasses. "I told you, I'm an admirer. I'd just like to be friends with you…" Red eyes behind the black glass slithered up and down the boy's body memorizing every curve. "_Close_ friends…" He had to keep himself from salivating as his senses were starting to grow wild. The perfume of fear he tasted as the object of his affection was overwhelmed by his gifts was intoxicating.

And he wanted more.

_His mind's eye delved into the Titan's mind unannounced. Unexpectedly, it was easier to penetrate the boy's meagre mental defences than he thought. It was as if someone already broke and entered before him._

_He imagined the boy staring ahead in defiance, but not noticing his presence. Oddly, there were fading bruises where his skin was exposed. A large one around one of the eyes, a generous dose on his arms, and even healing cuts all over his body where parts of his uniform was tattered. The man walked around the mental image of the boy, all the while smiling at his physical form. Despite the injuries, the physique was splendid._

That answer only succeeded in bringing up more questions. Robin continued try to leash the conversation under his control, "Are you part of the recent wave of murders involving children?" Red-gloves only offered his Cheshire grin in response. The silence was getting on Robin's nerves. "Answer me!"

_The man's vision of Robin stood rigid as the corporeal version in this surreal world of thought and instinct. He raised his hand on to the boy's shoulders. Instantly they stood in a hallway materializing in the teen's unconsciousness. Each door had a mask nailed to it, the type of mask symbolizing drama and comedy of theatre and plays. But, there were more than two masks of Happy and Sad attached to each door. One door displayed a mask of Rage, another showed Apathy, then Sorrow, Love, Hate, Envy, Anxiety, Kindness, Optimism… Some were scratched, some dented as if there was a brawl. Others seemed like they were never opened before. The doors went on and on but both ends were finite. Those ends however, were clouded in mist._

_Robin, the one in Red-gloves' vision, stood before the open door of Bravery with the strong winds originating behind it warmed his skin. But he could feel a cold draft coming from a door down the hallway, the cold creating the shiver in his spine. The man closed the Brave door shut, and gingerly he turned the boy's shoulders down the hall. No resistance came in the world of the unconscious. He experienced many react too late to do anything._

_They followed the bitter breeze until Red-gloves arrived to the door he was looking for. It was only slightly open, just enough to allow a draft. The mask that decorated it had carvings of large wide eyes, the mouth contorted into something much more twisted to a scream._

_He left the boy standing in front of it, and ever so slightly, the door was pushed to widen the opening even more…_

Robin furled his brow watching his hands shaking ever so slightly. The resolve he had to confront the man in front of him weakened. A sudden attack of anxiety loosened his grip on his staff as it lowered, his arms feeling heavier than usual.

Sound of footsteps caught his attention and focused his eyes in front of him closed in the distance between them halfway. Surprised that the man managed to walk up to him that fast and undetected, the man was merely two metres away. "J, just stop right there!" Robin faltered backwards from the advancement, needing the urge to keep his personal space large and wide.

Red-gloves merely continued to smile, _"Once I saw a little bird come hop, hop, hop..."_

The more the man stepped, the farther the Titan kept faltering back. He didn't know why. He had his emotions under control less than a moment ago and now he felt like the beginnings of a panic attack. Breaths became quick and shallow, his heart beating for more oxygen. But still the Titan's leader willed himself to calm down. At least, stop his hands from shaking and get a firm grip on his staff before it slipped from his fingers.

Then out of the darkness behind him, _"And I cried, 'Little bird, will you stop, stop, stop?'"_

Robin abruptly stopped as his back hit something. It couldn't have been the wall though it could pass for one. It was warm unlike the unforgiving cold of steel, but he felt fabric against the back of his neck. His instincts summoned back enough adrenaline to twirl his staff back at the second figure with enough force to knock an adult out.

_The door of Bravery didn't seem to have been shut properly._

But the staff didn't finish its job. He found his weapon caught in a white-gloved hand by a man with equal taste in fashion as the other. Robin pulled and pulled but the weapon refused to budge. The new man was big, though maybe not as much as Cyborg. Perhaps comparing to Slade in height and build beneath the suit was more accurate.

Feeling the one with red gloves nearing, he knew he had to remove himself from this pincer attack. Using the staff as leverage, Robin jumped in front of white-gloves and landed a swift kick at his face. With his momentum he rounded over the staff then let go as he tucked and rolled away from the two men, finishing up on his feet.

White-gloves massaged his jaw looking from the staff to the Boy Wonder and back. A line of red slipped from the corner of his lip, but casually licked it back. "Feisty, isn't he, Tom?"

"Yeah, just a little darling, Jack." The younger brother answered with smiles in his voice.

Standing side by side, the one named Jack was half a foot taller than the one named Tom. And Tom seemed like a toothpick besides the taller man but still filling out his suit.

All of a sudden Robin had an irrational idea that he was too outmatched. The tremble in his hands came back again and he hoped it was from the adrenaline pump. His hand managed to reach around his belt to pull out two birdarangs, readying for an attack.

Jack twirled the staff once, and with one smooth stroke threw it like a javelin at his prey.

Robin caught sight of the move and timed his leap to jump over the bar. At the peak of the jump he let his birdarangs fly at his opponents. But he didn't anticipate for the staff to stop in mid-air as he was descending, swing like a baseball bat and knock the wind out of his lungs. The Titan tumbled to the floor from the air strike. In the last second, he managed to gain control of the fall by rolling on his shoulders and recover in a crouch.

Just in time to see his birdarangs fly off in two different directions away from the two men.

That wasn't supposed to happen…

Robin lightly touched his stomach where he took the hit. Already he felt the beginnings of a bruise taking form. But his face didn't betray the look of pain, only of puzzlement.

This time, the attack came in the form of a charge. Taking more drastic measures, Robin threw two explosive discs straight at the sprinting men. Again his eyes widened, watching the projectiles move up ninety degrees in mid-air to pass right above their heads. The wall behind crackled in a deafening explosion more strongly than it should have. _Left over oil_, the Boy Wonder surmised even in the heat of battle. Despite the large blast, there was minimal fire burning. Most of the residual fuel must have been burnt instantly by the initial impact.

Tom unleashed a straight punch at the teen but Robin easily dodged to the side. Jack opted to swipe his leg below to knock the boy down. Again Robin saw it happening and back flipped between the two over the kick. Standing on his hands and splitting his legs, the Titan gyrated in both chests and sprang onto his boots.

Jack and Tom staggered backwards, forcing a space between them. An unusual look of surprise, not the bad kind, painted their faces behind their sunglasses. Robin took that as a clue that they underestimated his fighting prowess. And he felt his courage coming back in full force in the comfort of that fact, but apprehension still lingered.

"Flexible, aren't you?" Tom remarked, "You should save the splits for the bedroom, luv."

His mouth was open but nothing came out. Robin could not think of a witty counter to that. The vague idea in his head of exactly what he meant didn't help hide the sudden growth of pink in his cheeks.

Tom caught the colour, and decided that it went so well with the fine, black hair. "Oh come on. You've never had a compliment like that while you prance around fighting in _such_ tactics?" His red eyes pawed at the body before him. "Especially, in those tights."

"Now now, Tom. Keep talking like that and you'll—" Jack was cut off by a blur of green, red and black.

With speed neither anticipated, Robin charged and punched Tom squarely in the stomach. Another punch landed under the jaw when he keeled over at the impact of his mid rift. Thomas fell to the side and it became clear to the teen that he was not the fighter of the duo.

Jack approached the two in quick, long strides. But Robin didn't let up in his assault. He back punched the other but his fist was caught in the large hand. The teen pulled again to free his hand but the grip didn't falter.

"Like I was saying," the larger of the two men said, "keep talking like that and you'll ruffle his feathers."

Eyeing that Jack's knee was bent just right, Robin used it as a step to reach up and knee him in the chest over his heart. That earned his hand freedom and landed on all fours, engaging a low, swiping kick of his own to knock White-gloves on his back.

Robin stood as the other two were still down, but one of them seemed to be chuckling.

"I know how you like our toys in mint condition Tom, but I think slightly damaged is just as good in this case." Jack said, letting his chuckling die down.

"Let's just leave the pretty face, pretty, eh Jack?" Tom replied. With the pain subsided he sat up on his elbows and looked straight at Robin. All the while the smile never left, "I suggest you watch your back."

Oldest trick in the book and of all times it was a statement of fact. A large, wooden crate crashed onto Robin's back throwing him metres away. The back of his right shoulder ached from the full impact but nothing was broken. His titanium cape prevented splinters sticking to him. But it hurt as he pulled himself to hands and knees, with right arm shaking still from the sudden pain.

Too immersed by the suddenness of the attack, he didn't hear the sound of footsteps approaching him. An arm looped around his waist and hoisted him in the air, backbone against a body.

"See if you played nice we wouldn't be so rough on you, luv." Tom admonished as he held his prize in one arm ignoring the struggle of two green gloved hands.

Finger danced on a firm, struggling thigh. That prompted an elbow to Tom's forehead, missing the bridge of his nose thanks to a bit of panic on Robin's part. Tom clutched his head in what should be a resounding headache, dropping the boy.

A sudden impact pushed the Boy Wonder back to the ground. With uncanny speed he swung a punch… but nobody was above him. For that matter, Jack and Tom were nowhere in sight. The building started to echo a metallic rattle and with the dim lighting and the too empty space was making it difficult for Robin to pinpoint the location. He looked left and right and up and down, but nothing. His chest pounded as his breathing sped. Though still mostly in control of his emotions, the sound drawing closer made him nervous. He knew he shouldn't be but it was there all the same.

Taking advantage of a boy lost in thought, a length of chain slithered its way towards him and wrapped itself around a lithe leg. Fiercely, the chain pulled him down and Robin landed unceremoniously on his chin. The chain dragged him towards the darker corner of the room piled with crate, and all the writhing to pull the leg free from the grip failed. So he opted to release another birdarang. He threw it with perfect aim and cleanly cut the chain setting his leg free.

Unfortunately, once he got up again another crate was flying straight for him. This time he was able to roll underneath it. Then hurdle over another, and other came and another with no indication of anyone throwing. Soon too many smaller items besides crashing towards him and he couldn't dodge five things at once. Loose gears or small toy parts pelted him and he manoeuvred as best as he could, but the soreness in his injuries slowed him down. All too soon cuts began to spread, parts of his costume being shredded off from impacts. He backed himself against a junker of a machine, basically trapped.

He had to tell himself, no matter how much he wished he didn't want to admit, back up was necessary—a lesson he learned the hard way. Nimble fingers withdrew the communicator, while his free hand grabbed the corner of the industrial-strength cape and lifted it over his head for protection. "Titans! I need hel-…reinforcements! Converge on my coordin—AGHH!"

Robin howled in pain, dropping the communicator in surprise as a hand gripped his wrist and violently twisted it back behind him. Debris stopped shooting at him but the new pain attacked him. One false move on his or the assailant's part and the arm would pop out from its socket. The teen gritted his teeth against the pain, trying to not give out more sounds.

A resounding crunch echoed; the sound of a communicator crushed underneath a large boot. "I'm sorry," it was Jack's voice, "this dance is only for three." He unwound the arm just as he twisted it and twirled the teen to face him. "We only invited you to say 'how do you do,' but you just had to wiggle your tail and try to fly away." Large, masked eyes full of anger looked up at the dark shades. Though Jack couldn't deny he liked his brother's tastes. Except, looking at that face now, elder brother noted how anger suited the face that was left untouched in the onslaught before. He caught the other green-gloved hand before it reached the boy's utility belt. "You should really try to relax, Redbreast." All too easily Jack released the hand and instead seized him by the collar and slammed the Titan onto the wall of the machine, feet dangling above ground.

Robin couldn't prepare himself for the impact in time as the back of his head met with a sickening thud against metal. Stars floated in his vision, trying to regain focus. His free hand weakly reached for the fist on his collar. Jack just shook his head in amusement at the sight and with a swing he threw the teen across the room. Robin skidded and rolled to almost the centre, near the dead bird and photos and landed on his back. The topsy-turvy motions did not help with his aching head and he found his consciousness was not cooperating with him. Groaning from the extra bruises that would appear next day, he closed his eyes to stop the building from spinning on him and struggled to at least get up on his elbows. But a sudden weight on his thighs glued his legs to the floor.

As his head was just starting to calm down on him, he felt his right hand held and guided above him on the floor despite the shoulder pain. Smaller fingers lace with larger ones. Something making circles on his stomach that felt very much shaped like a hand. It gently caressed him there, his stomach waving up and down in sync with his breathing. Though his mask made him look wide awake, the eyes behind them still struggled to open and let in light that would making his pounding headache even bigger.

And that hand was getting too comfortable…

"Don't worry, little one," A voice whispered, "I'll make you feel much better."

The hand that was becoming far too privy with his stomach trailed further down, down, down…

Robin gasped, feeling warm skin brushing between his legs. Eyes shot open instantly by the touch and saw that it was Tom straddling his legs. His left hand already clawed at the red glove. The teen's other arm couldn't get the right leverage to push the obstructing hand binding it off. "Get, y—your damn, hands off m—me! Get, get off 'a me!!" Robin yelled as loud as he could, words slurring slightly from the cranial impact. No matter how hard he pushed and shoved at the assailant's chest, his strength didn't return enough to give him a good chance to succeed.

Fingers that stroked his privates trailed upwards, past his stomach and up his chest as it detoured to the left to where a tiny lump should be. Then they continued upward, up his neck, around his cheek all the while being careful to not get bitten by the still cursing boy. Finally it reached his mask and wrapped around his face covering his eyes. Now darkness covered the teen's vision whether he wanted it or not.

"Shhh little Redbreast, I just want another taste…" Tom whispered and worked his manipulations.

_This time, Tom saw the boy shaking against the wind blowing behind the Fear door in the long hallway. Like the last autumn leaf resisting the unforgiving gales to separate it from its foundation of the tree, it was such a delicate sight he loved to be witness of. And he felt his mind's stomach filling with the delicious aroma the boy emitted. Tom walked towards Robin, who had yet to notice his presence. Once more he walked behind the boy, placing his hands on the small yet sturdy shoulders. This time though, he let his hands reach a little bit lower for a little more exploration. _

_The boy rocked back and forth ever so slightly from the touch—a sign of resistance to come. His playmate was starting to become aware of the intruder in his mind. But the cold was unforgiving and limited Robin's movements even as Tom bent down to rest his chin on his shoulder._

"_I think," Tom started, his lips grazing an earlobe as he spoke, "you've been brave for far too long, little one." A finger stroked the light blue skin around one of the right eye of the mask._

_Robin turned his head away from the breath against his ear. "Go away…" The voice was so quiet Tom almost missed it despite being ear to ear with the boy. It was certainly not the gallant voice he heard before. If Tom didn't know any better, he would have surmised that someone already did a number on the kid mentally before him. Which was a shame, he clucked to himself—he wanted to be the first. Whatever or whoever it was that left the scars and bruises, left him more docile in this realm._

_But that mystery had to wait. Thomas released the still shuddering teen, and stepped up to the door of Fear. This time he swung the door wide, letting the damp cold waltz its way in. Then he moved down the hallway and one by one opened a door he approved of. Distress, Shame, Loneliness, Nervousness, Despair, Panic… Some of these doors were already open he just helped to widen them. Any open door he came across as detrimental, like the reopened Bravery, Anger, Hope… were casually closed. Soon the warm air in the hallway was overtaken by the chill, making Robin shiver harder…_

All of a sudden, Robin's struggles and breaths stopped. His body shook as it was swayed by overwhelming emotions cascading on him at the same time. Lips trembled to release words lodged in his throat. Something was wrong. Very, very wrong and the teen wanted this to stop so much. His resistance started again, but only a shadow to the fierce fight he gave just a moment ago. "Stop," he whispered, "let me go…" It sounded so pitiful to his ears. But despite his sudden cowardice, Robin had the scrap of level-headedness to wonder where his resolve went when he needed it most.

Tom looked down on the more subdued bundle underneath him, feeding on the other's wave of shame and fear. He hadn't had such heavy alcohol of emotions in such a long time. "Aren't you feeling much better now, sweetie?" he said with a wide smile. He leaned down letting his exhales of air roll off his victim's face.

"No…NO! STOP!!" Panic overwhelmed him and Robin sparked his continuing resistance with the fire of desperation. "Leave me alone! Please!" He tried to lift his legs again but the man had them squarely pinned. Squirms to rid the weight only seemed to fuel the predator's desires. Weakly his free hand pounded on the arm sealing his eyes but nothing budged. His heart pounded against his skin, screaming for the only free appendage to do something, anything!

And the hand did listen, clawing from the restraining arm to the ground as he felt another wave of distress overwhelm him. Groping along to reach the utility belt, Robin caught something in his hand. The shape of the item let him hold a firm grip, and that little piece of level-headedness told him it was his birdarang. However the panic returned, making his arm swing wildly. Blindly punched air, he managed a successful stab with the wing of the projectile into the oppressor's upper arm.

Tom noticed too late that the Titan had a weapon on his hand. He yelped out in pain, losing his grip on the boy yet still able to keep his balance on him.

Robin lifted his arm to strike once more, but something hard knocked his hand onto the unforgiving steel floor. Upon impact, the hardness pushed and twisted down upon flesh metal. The Titan screamed as he felt the blade and crushing of the metal cut deep into his palm. His hand was being sandwiched, with blood as condiment. He unwound his eyes to see above, to the sight of Jack with the heel of his boot mangling his hand.

"Very wrong move, boy." Jack snarled, still twisting his heel.

The Titan's other hand reached out to try and push the foot off but Tom recovered too fast. Younger brother took control of the teen. Anger mounted inside his chest, encouraging him to back-hand Robin across the face. A short, piercing cry answered him then silence. The boy's voice shut temporarily by the sting but soon returned with vigorous protest.

Jack moved to crouch down closer to their victim, but a sudden crack to his head flung him to the side.

"What the hell—?!" Tom looked up at his injured brother and his surroundings, not seeing any one else besides the three. "Who's there?!" He sneered, letting his mind search out for an intruder, and sure enough, he felt there was another presence among them. Before he could react to it, something feeling strangely like knuckles drilled him in the cheek with such force he flew sideways next to his sibling.

With the weight off his body, Robin cradled his injured hand and rolled to his side. Shaking legs curled themselves towards his chest on reflex. He didn't take the chance to look about to see what was going on, rather, he was preoccupied with whatever he was feeling had slowly started to dwindle.

Tom and Jack gathered enough composure to stand up. They looked about but there was still nothing, but they knew someone was there because they could feel it. "Whoever you are, you have messed with the wrong people." Jack muttered. Silence was all they got and it was all right with them. The more time they got, the more time Tom had to reach out mentally for the culprit.

However, they didn't get the chance.

Six streaks of red light emerged out of thin air above Robin, striking at the brothers. The two men dodged them swiftly as the red attacks pierced themselves on the pile of crates behind them. Jack noted the shape of the shuriken-like projectiles peculiar form of an X.

"Jack," Tom walked up to his brother, "we don't need to waste time with a third party. I've tagged the bird already." He clutched his upper arm where he was stabbed. The flow of blood stopped and it seemed it wasn't as serious as it looked.

"Fine," Jack answered, "we have tomorrow anyway. And," he smirked to his sibling, "probably better to let the situation sink in… for all those involved." He kept his eyes at the origin of the projectiles, like he could see the intruder which he knew he couldn't. "Can you tell where our mystery guest is?"

Tom scanned the building. Though his eyes couldn't see anything, his mind clawed itself to his right of the room. "Right side… and seems pissed about something."

Jack snorted, "Like we haven't pissed the world off already." Smiling at the thought, the crates behind them started to shake and the X-projectiles unattached themselves. He turned to his right, gesturing a mock salute to whoever it was standing there. In synch with his movements, the crates, projectiles and junk vaulted to the "empty" right of the room.

The red projectiles sliced through the air and hit the ground, but crate smashed into something in midair. A faint grunt of air exhaled notifying the two brothers there indeed was someone physically there. And that's all they needed to know before they backed away to the front exit like nothing was happening besides the rain of debris inside.

The entity leapt out of range to the middle of the room while trying to avoid getting hit again. Once the barrage stopped, the entity looked about the surroundings, only to discover the two men disappeared during the distraction.

"Just great." With a flick of a switch, Red X materialized with one hand massaging the back shoulder that took the brunt of the hit. The suit managed to absorb the shock of the impact, but he'd feel sore for a while. Luckily, there wasn't anything torn either. Just how they knew where he was didn't go well with him. He knew the makeshift belt may be amateur for some, there was no doubt it wasn't that bad of a job. The little trick those two had of throwing things without being thrown was also a question marker in his head.

A mumbles fished his thoughts from introspection. Red X walked over and crouched over the teen he just saved. Again.

Robin managed to push himself on one elbow while his uninjured hand tried to pull himself up. He still felt dizzy and ached all over. His heartbeat returned to normal rhythms but he felt bit confused with his surroundings.

Eyeing the suit's previous owner, X shook his head at the sight of cuts and torn costume. "You really have a natural talent in getting yourself into needless trouble, kid."

Boy Wonder stopped his movements, only turning his head to the owner of that voice he recognized, "You?!" He slumped back down to the ground and reached his temple as the headache grew from turning too fast. "Why did you… I mean, where did you…?" Unable to expel the last bit of words, Robin dropped his head to the floor before the room spun faster.

"I was in the neighbourhood. And an explosion that big, which I'm guessing you've caused, is hard _not_ to notice." Like what he'd always receive when they first met, X waited for the retort.

""In the neighbourhood?' What, are you stalking me now?" Robin countered, making his voice full and strong as possible.

X smirked, "You wish. No, I'm here strictly on business." Quietly, he stared at the body in front of him. All in all, the view before him was pathetic. The Titan's costume didn't fare so well as his own. Although the cuts weren't deep enough to be of serious concern, dark stains on his tunic made it look worse than it was. There wasn't anything that could be detrimental to promote lethargic movements like this. Perhaps the left hand could have been in better shape as shards of metal stuck in the palm, but he knew the kid could take whatever beating he received judging from their last encounter. Maybe it had something to do with how the kid kept massaging his head.

"Business?" Robin replied, "Another five-finger shopping spree?" He groaned inwards; even he thought that was a lame line. But he wasn't given time to think, which in on itself was strange since he never needed to think before announcing his one-liners. Lying still on his back, mask turned away from the one who had possibly saved him from…well, he didn't want to think that far.

The thief ignored the brush off, as easy as it was. More out of curiosity than concern, which he wouldn't acknowledge of course, he stretched his hand to the other's forehead. "Even when you're half-conscious you manage to spew the same, cheesy tripe." A finger or two brushed against the sweat-lined temple. Maybe he was just sick and had a fever. "I have to admit, kid, getting raped was the last thing I've ever conceived you would get yourself into."

Robin slapped the hand away, "I was _not_ being----!……" He couldn't even get himself to say the word. "Just… go." The demand was so tired, so preoccupied. Bringing his injured hand close to his torso, he tried again to lift himself off the ground.

X stood up, giving the Titan some room. In the corner of his eye, he noticed a box and pieces of paper lying nearby. Curiosity nipping his brain, he side stepped over, peering down at the items to see that the papers where photos. One by one he picked each up as suppressed, discomforted moans emitted in the background. He looked through the photos, and the envelope, and the box.

And he stared again from the dead bird he recognized the species of, to the envelope, to the photos in a loop. Skull eyes drifted back and forth from injured Robin to dead robin.

The connection was so blatant a five year old would understand.

He stuffed the photos back into the envelope, pocketing the items into his belt and headed back towards Robin whose back was turned to him. Stand with arms crossed, he witnessed someone who certainly didn't move gracefully like whom he teamed up with that night. Robin was finally able to reach a sitting position, but still looked unstable when it came to balance. "Look," the digitally altered voice resonated in a tone uncharacteristically absent of sarcasm, "I've already wasted my time to find you and your friends for something I should have ignored." X reached underneath to the other's armpits and pulled him up to his feet. "I'm just here to leave a message and disappear."

"Then leave it and go!" Robin shouted, pulling himself away from helping hands. Free from support, he realized his body could handle standing but his mind wasn't. Metal clad boots faltered in their steps and almost fell over if not for a hand seizing his arm.

He didn't want to deal or think about thievery or gang fights or whatever the hell Red X wanted to say—not right now. He just wanted to be alone! Away from the witness to what he knew was a less than stellar heroic demeanour. He didn't want to be helped like this! This was the last thing he needed: that a criminal would find him and even _pity_ him at a time he was feeling much too……

Vulnerable.

He despised that word so much.

"I can't do that—not here anyways." Red X steadied the other's balance even if it was unwanted. "First of all, it's this isn't the place to share my info." He ignored the struggles and placed one arm with the uninjured hand drape over his shoulders as he wrapped a grey glove around Robin's waist. "And second, if your friends find out I was here with you, they'd either hunt me down for leaving you as you are, or think that _I_ assaulted you."

Once those words sunk in, the resistance stopped. The thief was half surprised and half eased. The kid wasn't as stubborn as he thought. With measured steps, they headed out the front exit.

The two moved towards the nearest residential area in silence. They would have arrived faster if travelling by rooftop but the burden the younger teen's injuries didn't allow much leeway for swift movement.

Passing the fence and down the street riddled with cracks, the area seemed like a ghost town. The farther away it was from the main city, the more lifeless the outer rim of buildings seemed to get. Wind blew around years old newspapers and broken shards of glass bottles littered the road and sidewalk.

In the beginning, Robin willed his body to keep all his weight to himself. Except he seemed to, or wanted to, nod off once in a while. Thus little by little, his weight shifted over to the taller thief whether he realized it or not. His legs moved in rhythm with the other, but his mind floated to be elsewhere.

Once in a while X would glance over to the boy he made up in his mind was younger than him judging from his immature maturity. And that image became more vivid as the Titan seemed smaller than what he remembered, or maybe childish was the right word. What he understood well was whatever happened back at the factory, it took a big toll. But he had witnessed this type of reaction before too many times from his past experience to be flustered, and didn't think of asking anything of it. After all, it was none of his business.

"Are you planning to ferry me all the way back to the Tower?"

The sound of Robin's voice cut through a train of thoughts Red X didn't realize he was contemplating. He turned his head, but only met with a mound of wild, black hair. An answer to that simple question seemed strangely difficult. The only thing he noticed was the Titan's voice was revived almost back to normal, wise-ass tone. "Is that a request?"

A question to answer a question was something Robin disliked. It always kept him on the defensive. Although he would find himself yearning to be lying in his bed under the warmth of his white covers, he was feeling better mind-wise. His body however, began to feel the full extent of his injuries. Aches and stiffness saturated muscles and he bet he didn't look as pleasant either. "No, I'm just questioning your motives." He lifted his head to see the criminal in the eye for the first time since their second encounter, "I severely doubt you're helping me out of the kindness of your heart. You want something." The voice of the authoritarian was back.

It was a straightforward statement, and something that X very much expected from the Boy Scout. But somehow, for some reason, it grated on him. The tone and the twist of a blindsiding accusation set off a nerve. Perchance it was because he actually came to share information that was for once in a long time, not for selfish reasons—or because Jerk Wonder's righteousness can be very nauseating. "After all that I've done to save your ass, twice. Didn't your parents teach you how to show gratitude, kid?" Despite his wording, his voice sounded corrosive than mockery.

Robin sneered, vexing to get his arm on the thief's shoulder back. "Stop calling me 'kid'!" That label irked him then and it certainly did now. Too many years of training were spent to climb up that latter to be insulted like this. "And I didn't _ask_ for, nor do I _need_ your help." He spat it out as if the notion of the idea was poison.

And Red X caught that suggestion of disgust. "Fine." Without a second's thought, he threw the Titan's arm off his shoulder and shoved him aside. He didn't flinch as the boy fell hard on the concrete. "Walk on your own, _kid._"

The abrupt move caught Robin off guard and he fell off from the sidewalk to the empty street. His right elbow earned another scrape as it took a direct hit on the pavement. But not one sound of pain escaped his lips; his voice was blocked by surprise.

That wasn't supposed to happen, like how a lot of things weren't supposed to happen recently.

He should have been the one to push away the criminal, not the other way around.  
He shouldn't have fallen but he did.  
He shouldn't have been overpowered but he was.  
He should have taken better care of his responsibilities over the Red X persona.  
He shouldn't have let that chemical powder manipulate him to the point of self-mutilation and—

And why the hell was he heaving this repulsive amount of angst on himself?!

His memories recalled what he thought happened in the factory, the movements of that bastard's hand on his body. That cold drift of air never left him as it should have.

Pulling at his brain was his left hand still encrusted with metal, starting to throb as if pain decided just this moment to work its bittersweet magic. Robin looked down at his injured hand distracting him from thinking; the green glove turned black almost to the wrist. Spotting the shadow that had yet to move, he dared to look up, meeting the other mask to mask. Neither could read what was in each other's eyes, and neither said a word for the longest time.

Though the Titan's mouth displayed clenched teeth, the thief wasn't sure if it matched the expression in his eyes.

And what of it? The kid was being a stuck-up brat. X had no regret about his action he committed a moment ago. It didn't matter who it was: if they irritated him, he'd make it known. However, it wasn't his own actions he was piqued over.

It was Robin's.

It was the lack of action from the only one who bested him in his own game.

The Boy Wonder should have jumped up to his feet no matter what state his body was in and return the rough behaviour back. But he just laid there on the ground. Something was weighing the younger teen down, and it was becoming clearer to his intuition that it just might be something more than what happened today.

And thought back to when they first met, to when he was behind bars while the Titan lectured him on heroism versus selfishness. There was a certain weight dragging out those words too. He assumed it was simply guilt over the suit being stolen.

Perhaps it was…

But he didn't get to finish that thought.

A green bolt of light erupted between him and Robin, throwing him on his back from the pulsating impact.

"Robin!"

The Titan's leader looked up to see Starfire with her illuminated fists and a green swift almost diving at him.

Starfire landed right beside her battered friend and helped him to a sitting position while the swift bird decelerated and morphed into Beast Boy a few feet away. Alien's eyes winced as she noticed the blood soaked glove, but the sum of the damage to his body was not as serious. "Robin, are you able to move? When your communication with us terminated so abruptly I feared we may have been too late…"

The changeling stood between the two and Red X, who was recovering from the attack. His head turned over his shoulder to see if Robin was alright, and to see the extent of his injuries. "You have some guts to show yourself like this head on." Beast Boy turned to the thief.

X got to his knees and pushed himself up whilst massaging the back of his head. He found himself facing a green boy turning into a cheetah. "Hey, I'm not here to make trouble." He raised his hands to emphasize the point.

"Lies!" Steadily, Starfire helped Robin up to his feet, though he stood sturdier than before. "We have witnessed you pushing Robin down! You have caused his injuries have you not?" Her eyes glowed in growing anger.

"No!" X looked from the princess to the smote hole where the warning shot hit. He didn't want to see what results would happen if energy blasts landed on him.

Robin stood standing up on his own with only his uninjured hand resting on Star's shoulder while he subtly shifted her hands fall off his torso. He showed enough weakness for one day. "It's okay Star, Beast Boy."

The beautifully spotted cheetah turned to him in confusion, with Starfire showing the same puzzlement.

"I guess I didn't know the full extent of my injuries. My knee buckled and I fell." Robin eyed Red X. "He was trying to catch me before I hit the ground"

The thief returned the stare, letting his arms slowly drop to his sides.

Beast Boy turned from leader to outlaw, "So… you were helping him?"

The metallic voice answered while the skull still fixed at the gaze, "…yeah."

Starfire looked back and forth between the two like the changeling, but rested her eyes on the boy beside her. "Robin, is this true?" After seconds passed, Boy Wonder nodded once. She turned to X again, this time, without the glowing eyes of wrath. "I apologize for my pre-emptive accusation, Red X." She glanced at the teen next to her, wincing again at his hand before she added, "Thank you."

"Yeah," Beast Boy started, "only, why _are_ you here? And what the hell happened?"

Before an answer could sprout, Robin interrupted. "Can that wait until we all get back to the Tower before my hand turns completely numb?" A tint of humour embedded in his tone, maybe tying to crack the rigid air.

Beast Boy eyed his leader, "_All_ of us? You mean including him?" He inquired, pointing at the person in question.

"Apparently, he has something he wants to share with us, right?" At this point, no one would have ever guessed Robin had gone through anything remotely traumatic from his voice and body language.

"…right." Red X kept his answers short.

"Then," Starfire started to approach him after making sure Robin was stable on his own, "Beast Boy shall carry Robin since he can support the injuries without straining them efficiently, while I shall carry you." She floated around and above X and lowered her arms.

Already Beast Boy evolved into a pterodactyl and crouched low enough to let Robin crawl on his back without stretching too much. Red X looked up to her with an eyebrow raised behind his mask. Seeing as there was no choice, he sighed and lifted his arms and took gripped the alien's upper arms as Star did the same to his. In one bound all four were airborne, heading towards Titan's Tower.

This was the first time the thief flown like this, and he was rather enjoying it. Flight truly was a higher sense of freedom. The beating of wings reached his ears and he turned over his shoulder to see the reptile in the air carrying his passenger.

Robin and Red X stared eye to eye again, before both broke it off to avoid straining their necks.

The sun stained the city red in its descent towards the western horizon in the cloudless sky. It was a beautiful dusk to end a beautiful day.

But true beauty does not come about without suffering.

* * *

That was unnecessarily long. I was concerned with the Red X/Robin interaction, trying my best to make them in character when they're thrust into new situations. Does this smell of RedxRobin? :) 

Some of the quotes in italic in this and previous chapters were not made by me (though I altered one quote by Jack to fit with the flow of the speech) but are from nursery rhymes. The prominant rhyme for this chapter is "Once I Saw a Little Bird":

_Once I saw a little bird  
Come hop, hop, hop.  
And I cried, "Little bird,  
Will you stop, stop, stop?"_

_I was going to the window  
To say, "How do you do?"  
When he shook his little tail  
And away he flew._

And now you know :)  
-Art of Silence


	4. Intermission

Sorry for the wait, time for writing has dwindled much with school invading my life again :( Again, thank you for your reviews and patience. This is another slow chapter, I think the pace will pick up in ch.5 and beyond.

Gold Silk: An LJ? Is it possibly the TTS site?

Again, not beta read so please forgive the grammar.

4: Intermission

"What happened!" Cyborg's jaw dropped when he saw Robin and Starfire enter the giant, spacious room. He had ordered the alien princess and the changeling to follow the communications signal since the two were the fastest fliers, but judging from his friend's attire, it would seem they were still late to arrive.

Raven broke away from the main computer where she posted herself to communications. She walked around the couch to stand beside the giant Titan. Though the costume had seen better days, Robin's injuries did not seem as bad. Well, not as bad when compared to the last time seeing him in such a state. And that chemical dust incident wasn't that too long ago. They didn't need a reminder of that so soon.

"I had advised Robin that he should be heading straight for the medical room but he insists on listening to a message first." Starfire explained, walking down the stairs from the entrance besides the should-be patient. He walked on his own, but she followed a little behind in case his knee decided to "give out" again.

"What message?" Raven asked glancing at their leader. Despite the ever present fearless exterior, something wasn't right.

Cyborg raised a human eyebrow, "And where's Beast Boy?"

As if on cue, the changeling entered the room escorting Red X in front of him. Both the mistress and the half-robot contorted to confused looks at this unexpected guest. The thief however, approached the bottom of the stairs strolling along as if he lived in the Tower.

A hum of power erupted in the robot's arm, already transformed to cannon mode and was charging up for a strike if needed. "What is _he_ doing here?"

"Whoa whoa!" Beast Boy flailed his arms jumping in between the two. "He's not here to cause problems, and he helped Robin out…" His green eyes landed on the leader for a moment, "Well, whether he did much good to is another matter."

Taking that as an excuse to not blow someone up right now, the cannon reverted to a hand. Promptly, the half-robot started scratching his head with it, "Helped?"

Red X led himself around the room while all Titans minus Star kept a watchful eye on him. Lavishing what could best be called a living room was a massive red carpet blanketing the floor. An equally red large sofa was settled before a giant wall of windows. The first thought that went through his mind was: Titans like their toys big. When he first broke into the Tower, he was too preoccupied with acquiring the prize than to tour a super heroes' home. And it was damn amusing that with all this technology, he considered their security system elementary-level at best.

Eventually he stopped at the open kitchen, looking about the usual utilities and cabinets one would find. Such a large room yet it was only one of many; he had to wonder how they manage to afford it all. It was all something very tempting to have, but his line of work committed him to a low profile for survival.

X seemed to ignore all judgmental eyes on him, but it was hard to not notice one particular boy he had saved today. Saved…or rather "assisted" as Robin would most likely put it. They hadn't said anything to each other during the flight and maybe they silently agreed on that. Both, well Robin avoided direct eye contact. Any "weakness" he'd seen first hand then was completely non-existent now. Either he was very good at acting, or denying then burying it to a site only the digger knows about. Too bad X had easy access to that memory.

Robin's aggravated voice caught his attention, "You didn't come here for a tour." Patience, it seemed, was not on duty today.

Not liking the idea of a lawbreaker roaming freely in their home, Cyborg's patience was wearing thin as well. Being kept in the dark of a plot was not amusing when you're the one without a light, "Can someone explain what is going on?"

Finding a good spot with the best view of the entire room, X leaned against the ledge of the kitchen table, arms crossed. "Why don't you ask fearless leader? I'm sure he's _ecstatic_ to explain everything."

Robin narrowed his mask at the blatant challenge. He won't have himself baited in front of his peers. It was a battle for the spotlight with the four other Titans as audience. Only, they struggled to keep the limelight's attention on the other. "You came here to talk. So, talk."

X smirked behind the skull. There was something very amusing when it came to the annoying straight-as-a-board teen. "Oh but I'm sure your friends are dying to find out why you look like you've just been owned." A cocky tilt of his head sealed the open challenge.

"That is _none_ of your concern." Robin checked his rising temper. It was something he couldn't afford to show lest he'll be hounded by his team mates taking the thief's side demanding an explanation. "You seem to be forgetting that we _allowed_ you to come in here. If you're here to just waste our time then that mistake can be easily rectified."

Starfire was too engrossed on scrutinizing his injuries to notice the agitation brewing in her patient. The hand definitely needed immediate medical attention. If Robin wanted to avoid the medical lab, then administering of medical needs should be applied here. "Raven, would you please inspect Robin's hand while I bring the needed supplies?"

Listening to what could be described a battle of words, Raven made her way to Boy Wonder in silence. Despite how the teen prioritized, medical aid and conversation can happen at the same time. She lifted his bloody hand, and upon hearing a very quiet, sharp exhale of breath from him, she surmised the metal shards were still digging into the flesh. Surprisingly, the patient was showing minimal protests for aid which was a relief since no one wanted to deal with his pride. "I'll need to remove some of the shrapnel first before taking off the glove. Once it's clean I can help speed up the healing." Robin only nodded once to acknowledge he heard, but his eyes and mind were elsewhere.

Beast Boy and Cyborg were almost entertained by the obvious tension between Robin and X. Exactly _why_ was up to anyone's guess but assumed that it was merely that one of them was a thief and using technology the other created. But there was one thing that was and underlying message between the two. It went past the changeling's head, but crashed into the robot's. The Titans' leader was avoiding the question X put forth, and it seemed he was adamant to divert attention away from explanations of his current condition. If X, or Titan, pulled on his cape too hard the Boy Wonder would rip it off.

So he took the role of referee whilst trying to hold back the sarcasm as much as possible, "The guest should go first." After all, just because there was one event he helped out didn't equate to instant trust.

And here the thief thought he would have fun for his work. Understanding that he was quickly outliving his welcome, X produced a small, black disc from his belt. "I assume you know of the recent wave of abductions involving children, the bodies piling up?" He flipped the item at Cyborg, who promptly caught it.

The half-robot looked at it curiously, half expecting it to blow up in his face, "What's this?"

"It contains a recording concerning a certain mob boss in Bludhaven. Apparently, the Duke has… peculiar hobbies." The altered voice kept monotone in spite of the nature of the implications his wording meant. "The police here should know what to do with it—if they're competent enough."

Cyborg eyed the disc, then to his team mates. All the members' faces contorted to apprehension upon hearing where this discussion was leading. Slowly his eyes rested on Robin for silent signs of agreement in sanctioning the acceptance of such possible evidence. But even if denied, the anxious expressions of the other Titans would have prompted him to accept it anyway. Meandering his way to the computer, he inserted the disc into a recorder and hit play.

Everything was silent except for the low, jovial voice and another much more meek voice resonating from the speakers. Every Titan stood or sat where they were. Starfire all but froze listening to the meek voice, apparently belonging to a man named Leonard, describe the product being discussed as "a little kid." Without that depiction, none would have thought that the conversation recorded on the disc was about anything alive let alone _human_ merchandise. On occasion, laughter that could have easily belonged to Santa Claus assailed their ears. Beast Boy cringed at the thought of such description and slid onto the couch, promptly seizing a cushion to hold onto. Cyborg stood rigid before the console, trying not to smash the machinery out of disgust. Robin decided to keep his eyes on his hand that Raven was attentively working on pulling metal from now un-gloved flesh. To the casual eye, one would assume she was not listening at all.

X, however, was anything but affected by the chilling recording. Not because he heard it before hand live, he was just too busy watching the "indomitable" Titans shrink two sizes to small for their uniforms. The changeling was open as a book, as was the alien. The half-robot and the girl he could only describe as a sorceress, were doing a good job at preventing inner emotions rise to the surface.

Robin, on the other hand, looked like he was fishing the recording for hidden clues embedded in the conversation. A detective in every moment, that is until—

—"_Hello? This is the Duke, calling for Jack."—_

There it was.

And the thief knew he wasn't imagining it. Sitting directly in front of Robin, Raven too noticed a flinch so sensitive that no one would have noticed unless one expected it, or quite literally held a part of his body. Pale hands partially speckled in blood stopped mid-work as the dark girl raised her head in an equally obscure manner, just enough to let her eyes roll up to see the boy's head downcast. The visual glance was only for confirmation. She didn't need sight to feel that something had jarred his mind. In a moment so fleeting, something akin to anxiety and rage erupted to cause the sudden move.

Raven returned to her work as Robin returned to his steel exterior breaking the glance. As much as her curiosity was tapped, she couldn't do or ask anything now. He would have to talk by his own will or it nothing but disaster would strike.

X raised an eyebrow behind his mask observing the quiet communication. The girl knew when to keep her mouth—and body language—shut to avoid a leader who would most likely be on the defensive. But most important of all, the little gesture by the Boy Wonder confirmed his intuition.

One of the two men, who were shamelessly making their intent known on the poor kid, was named Jack. It certainly made things a lot more interesting… exactly for who was a different matter. Regardless of the value of the insight, his mind wandered to a follow-up thought that casually strolled into mind: "Jack" was certainly a plain name than he would have never figured for as an organized crime boss. Not that "Red X" was necessarily his own creation, but at least he stole something that was catchy. Pondering unnecessary thoughts, the dead silence of the room snapped him out of him to his surroundings with the Titans obviously letting the facts sink in.

"How did you obtain this?"

X turned to the source of the voice, meeting Robin's masked eyes drilling into his own. The others turned to the messenger as well. A quizzical expression was on each face, minus Raven who was busy with peeling the last shards of red metal to a bowl nearby.

Not letting the attention bother him, Red X casually lifted himself onto the table. He raised a foot to rest on the edge, ignoring the fact it was an unsanitary gesture. "You don't expect me to compromise my client, do you? That would be unethical of me."

The almost sing-song tone was not something Robin wanted to hear. It sounded too much like the thief knew exactly what cards were in his own hands and the strategy to use them. "Unless you're going to make a speech about the 'glory' of honour among thieves, I want an explanation." Anger and disgust lurked within him—both from the foreign touch that still lingered between his legs, and the fact that X may have seen too much of that predicament. At this point, bullshit was the last thing he wanted to deal with.

"Is it so hard to believe I'm only offering this from the kindness of my heart?" X responded half tiredly, hearing this too many times from the same record player.

"From a criminal?" Robin stood abruptly from his seat, ignoring the dull ache from his bruises and sores. Raven had just pulled the last object from flesh before he jumped, and narrowed her eyes at her unruly patient. The Titans noticed the taunt demeanour their leader was displaying, an almost unwarranted behaviour. With deliberate steps he crossed the room to its center, "No, there's always a catch. The Duke is a big name in Bludhaven, with only one other individual who has both money and power to be of any real competition to him. Being charged with child abuse with police crawling down his neck would be a substantial blow to the Duke. It would let Hierarch make his move on his turf quite easily with the distraction." Robin narrowed his eyes, challenging the other to play the next card, "How much is he paying you to deliver?"

The four Titans glanced from Robin to Red X. That was information that none of them knew and only further demonstrated just how much knowledge was crammed into the spiky-haired head.

If X didn't have his skull mask on, the Titans would have seen his jaw drop. Of all the arrogance and presumption… "Yeah, that's exactly what my plan is. Obviously nothing can get passed you, Kid." Sarcasm roasted the words.

Perhaps it didn't help that he was exhibiting a lazy attitude towards the crimes, but the assumption that he was doing this for money… He wasn't sure what to be more pissed about: Robin discovering who his client was on a first try, or that he never thought of offering to deliver said information for his client for extra cash. At the time he never thought of it that way, of how much value of getting the recording to the police would be tremendously beneficial to Hierarch. _ I'm slipping…,_ X thought to himself. It only further proved to himself that his conscience was having a bigger role than he realized.

"Besides that," Raven paused searching for the right words, "impulsive conjecture, if you want the police to handle this, why bring it to us?" She approached closer to the center of the room as her cloak waved along with her movements.

Maybe it was because of the heat of battle at the time, but the thief for the first time noticed the aesthetics of her costume. It certainly brought out her best feature, "C'mon Legs, do you honestly believe the cops would listen to me? You know, as you keep kindly remind me," X turned towards Robin for the rest of his remark, "I'm just a selfish prick of a criminal."

As if to dispel some tension, Beast Boy couldn't help release a small giggle at Raven's exaggerated furled eyebrows. He would have added a comment to the nickname, but the glares he received from most of his team mates signalled to him now was not the time. "Um, sorry," he shrugged the half-hearted apology. But X was amused to know that at least one member of the team had a sense of humour.

Cyborg took the break as an opportunity to quell his own curiosity, "That doesn't answer why you came to _us_ specifically."

"Yeah," Beast Boy piped over the back of the couch, "I mean, doesn't Bludhaven have its own heroes'n stuff with connection to the police?"

Red X hopped down from the ledge and leaned on the table with one hand, "Never been to Bludhaven have you, Squirt?" He smirked at the green teen's furled brow, almost as wrinkled as Raven's was. "As far as the criminals are concerned, Bludhaven has no cops or heroes to tuck the city in at night. You guys have the convenience of being above _and_ with the law. Perfect as a conduit between people like me," he emphasized by pointing to himself, then to the group, "and people like you."

Removing the disc from the player, Cyborg studied it for a moment. There didn't seem to be any harm in accepting the information, and it didn't seem like X had any devious ulterior motive. But watching Robin eye the thief with arms crossed, he couldn't deny that tension between the two had gone up substantially. And wanting to know the reasons behind the Boy Wonder's injuries poked at his cranial processor. "Well aside from that, mind explaining what happened to have Robin all scratched up here?"

"I think I can explain it better than our 'guest' here since _I _am the one with the bruises," Robin interjected and turned to Red, "You're business here is finished, isn't it? It's probably best if you leave."

It was a half expectant, half surprising and a completely threatening statement to X. "You're actually letting me walk out? No jail talk or twenty questions?"

"Don't. Tempt me." Robin wanted him out before Red X decided to open his mouth to everyone far too much. Only certain details should be told to his team mates and only the ones he wanted them to know. And in the back of his head, he didn't want to know how the position on the floor in the factory looked from a third party perspective. First person perspective was hideous enough.

"Well then, I take back what I said. You do know how to show a warped sense of gratitude—when it suits you." With a light push away from the table, X started his way towards the exit feeling the stare from the boy on his back. He caught the bird's next card in the game, and the bet was on his departure would give the teen leader the complete control over the conversation with his fellow Titans.

Apparently, the kid's knack for questionable deception knew no bounds when it was for his benefit. Yet, after seeing the shorter teen in a physically and mentally unwilling position, the thief found it hard to look at him in exactly the same light as before—the way he saw him on the first night the two danced. Maybe that was why he stopped his ascent to the exit, looking over his shoulder. "Word of advice," he eyed the young leader though he made it sound like he was addressing all of the team members, "getting yourself involved with this will only cause you to drown further than you already are."

Robin remained still, finding truth and resentment towards that warning. But it did leave a trace of veritable scent in the air. Why he bothered to even say such a thing perplexed the Titan leader. Just like how he helped him back at the factory, and in the first night they fought together. "You're not leaving alone. Someone will escort you out."

"I shall escort him off the island." Starfire, who remained uncharacteristically silent the entire time, volunteered for the task. Robin shifted his glance from X to Star and back, then finally nodded in agreement. She was the best choice for the task.

Red X smirked as the princess approached, gesturing him to walk in front. "Well, with a Cutie like you I wouldn't dare complain."

ooooooo

For the second time that day, X found himself hanging onto Starfire's arms as they sped through the sky and over the ocean. Occasionally he let out a whoop to release adrenaline built up from the crisp, rush of air.

Eventually, they arrived at the edge of the city's downtown as per his request. They landed on one of the business buildings in the busiest night district. "Thanks for the lift." X raised Star's hand in a mock gentleman's kiss of gratitude. "Now you better run along before birdie decides to assume something's up with our little joy ride."

Starfire raised an eyebrow in a quizzical expression, "Something is up?"

The thief opened and shut his mouth, "…never mind." He thought it better to withhold a wisecracking remark. It would probably fly pass her anyway. Finally free of self-imposed obligations, he headed towards the ledge of the building, preparing himself for a leap.

"Wait!" Starfire floated to where he crouched on the concrete banister. "I would like to thank you for sharing with us the information you came across. I am sure the others feel the same."

If he didn't know any better, it sounded like she was apologizing for her team. Their behaviour towards him was what he generally expected and would have been suspicious of anything else—especially from Robin. It was fun poking at him to gauge a reaction, but he found that it ultimately wasn't nearly as entertaining as being physically chased by someone with equal skill. All in all, he considered it a bonus for being let off easy without a consequence on his part. So this little apology sounded some sort of a pity talk. "It may be touching that you're sincere, but do take this personally: I really don't care about what any of you think of me."

The alien didn't let the comment wound her emotional nature. Instead, she held her face in resolve. From her belt she pulled out a device and presented it before the black-clad teen.

X stared at the circular black and yellow object adorned with a giant T. "What's this for?"

"It is a communicator, a means of contacting one another." She answered in a manner all too serious.

Now the thief was really confused. Sincerity may have been the wrong word to describe the girl. "Okay… Let me rephrase to something simple: why?"

"If, in the future, you come across additional information regarding these series of crimes, please do not hesitate to tell us." There was almost a hint of expectancy in her request, that it was fairly obvious why she was offering the item in the first place.

But X didn't want to waste time with the girl's grade school methods of making friends. "I do one thing I don't even know why I bothered and all of a sudden I'm your errand boy?" Though she seemed more pleasant to be around than most of the other Titans, there certainly was a limit he could take before her optimistic presence became irritating. And it was treading on that fine line right now.

"I know it is not…appropriate to fraternize with a criminal…," the princess knew that she was taking a risk with her little plan. But after hearing the discussion back at the tower, she came to the conclusion this venture was a wise choice, "but, in your case Red X, you have helped us—helped Robin, twice."

X rolled his eyes. Sometimes good guys really are about chivalry and all that nonsense. If two chance saves was going to bite him in the ass like this every time, he wouldn't have saved the kid at all… maybe. "So I'm automatically an honorary Titan? You're way too naive, Cutie."

"The first time may have been partially because of potential gain in your favour by acquiring a supply of xynothium." She stared him straight into his mask eyes in an attempt to drill her point across and to convince herself that this was the correct choice. "However, this time, I believe you have helped him only out of compassion. And despite your self-description as selfish, it is your consciousness that has brought you here to enlighten us with your most helpful findings."

He sat there with a stretch of silence wallowing in the cool night air. Shaking his head, X released a sigh. Do one simple, helpful deed and people start to label you as a hero. For all he knew, this could be an elaborate plan to stick a tracking device on him, or maybe it's a twenty-four hour one way communication option in favour of the Titans. Yet…

"I place my unconditional faith in what I believe. It is up to you to make my faith worthy or misplaced." With her hand with the communicator still outstretched, she observed the masked thief stare at it, and up to her.

...Yet, no one could deny part of him was enjoying this grossly honest and corny request for help. An individual was humbling themselves to him on freewill was an extremely rare occurrence in his life. In fact, he couldn't remember if there was ever a time like that.

And he had the nagging suspicion, she was asking in place of someone else—a boy who shall remain nameless—who was too full of pride to ask. Or maybe he was assuming that… _Why_ would he assume that? Or maybe he was just going crazy? Things certainly haven't been quite the same since he stole the X-suit, professional- and personal-wise.

Considering the worst case scenario, if it was a ruse to keep a track of him, then he was adept enough to technology to at least manipulate the device to work to his advantage. "Has the band of merry teens agreed to this?"

For a moment she hesitated but shook her head.

"So little Ms. Perfect isn't entirely innocent, after all. I can just imagine Mr. Anal-retentive have a PMS attack if he finds out about…this…" X stopped himself. He was talking as if he accepted the proposal. Bringing his attention back to the girl, he met nothing but confusion on the pretty face, "Boy Wonder will be pissed," he clarified.

The strangely described statement had resonance on her own apprehension on this move possibly being seen as a move against her friends. Nevertheless, her heart wasn't capable of that. Loyalty was too ingrained into her psyche. "Robin and the others… they do not need to know for now. As a Titan, I cannot allow myself to trust a criminal so easily. But as a person, I choose to believe that you are capable to care."

_What kind of sugar-coated words is she spewing,_ Red X cringed. Of course he cared—about himself. If not, he would be dead years ago. "Did anyone ever tell you, you talk weird?"

"Actually, yes," Starfire answered with nothing but truth powdering her visage. "Almost everyone I meet on this planet has commented on my speech pattern."

X eyed the communicator still presented before him. Would he? Should he? The request was genuine; a hero shedding pride to talk to a lowly thief—to him, for help. Robin was pompous enough to try and lecture him to guilt to save the city from Chang. He knew the underlying message was Robin asking for help, but he turned it into a lesson. If anything, he valued that bull-headed attitude the Titan leader displayed but the execution was sorely too much like a public service announcement. Except, he had admitted to himself that night, that was the reason that ultimately tipped the scales to the side of helping.

Since it was his first experience asked with no strings attached, he should start off with a good first impression. Maybe it will be a reputation that may come in handy later on. He took the communicator, shaking it in front of Starfire, "You owe me."

oooooo

"That's it?" Cyborg was exasperated, "The guy that obviously thrashed you is the guy named in that recording and that's all you can say about it?" He was understandably angry that the explanation for "bumping" into the two assailants was luck in the form of an anonymous tip.

Like hell it was.

He turned this bandaged hand into a fist. Robin had about enough of the group meeting, "As I have said, there was a scuffle. The one named Jack apparently has some sort of psychokinetic ability. I was just caught off guard by that, he got a lucky shot." He waved a hand to himself to emphasize the result.

Raven and Beast Boy barely had a chance to get words in between the two clashing Titans. It started as a regular debriefing escalating to a verbal battle. Even the changeling knew something was not right with Robin's story. Beside him, Raven too seemed suspicious, but _feeling_ there was a reason to be. The growing dissention between team mates brewing once more.

"That is a load of bull. You're telling me that you just happened to be at the 'right' place at the 'right' time to find these people?" It was obvious to the half-robot there was something going on; an important detail was missing. Just happening to receive a tip when he happened to be in the neighbourhood was not digestible. Coincidences like that never came to the Titans that easily. If it did, there was always a catch.

Robin was had enough of questions repeating themselves. "Look," he took a copied disc of the recording from the console, "we don't have time to argue over a useless detail. I told you their description and you should be working to find out exactly who these people are and their history." Without waiting for a response, he headed for the living room's exit.

Cyborg gritted his teeth, "Where do you think you're going? We're not through talking."

Robin didn't bother turning around as he approached the doors, "I'm off to work as you should be." He stopped to let the doors slide open for him, "And this conversation is over." His cape disappeared behind the closing door.

The room fell eerily silent after the long stretch of shouting. Beast Boy leaned over the couch, stomach to the headrest. "Geez, and I thought Raven is more testy than usual."

"There is something wrong," Raven spoke from behind, glaring at the boy a second time for the remark, "but he's never the one to say what his problems are out front." In the corner of her eye, she caught a look of look-who's-talking from the green teen but casually ignored it. _She_ wasn't the subject of complaint here.

Cyborg crossed his arms. Evidently, the problem of communications between peers has yet to be solved. "The question is _why_ he won't tell us? I mean, not only is it a possibility that it can help with the investigation but…," he tried to find the word for the tone Robin used when addressing the assailants, "…he was making this out to be really—"

Raven intercepted the thought,"Personal?"

"He did get pretty roughed up, though." Beast Boy crossed his arms on the red fabric and nestled his chin on the little niche, "Maybe he's itching for a rematch."

"No, that can't be the only reason. Most of the times he was defensive like that was when Slade got involved." Cyborg eyed the other two and hoped that wasn't the case. There was a reason the four Titans agreed to keep the note about an external signal activating the dust a secret. "Then there's the excuse about the anonymous tip. The amount of coincidence he's implied in his story is almost laughable." Metal hand rubbed metal chin pondering that thought. Thinking further, Robin seemed distracted enough to make up a very sloppy excuse.

"Maybe it had to do with that box…" Beast Boy passively mumbled.

At the hint of a suggestion the two elder Titans turned to the youngest. Raven fished for an elaboration, "What box?"

The changeling shrugged, "I thought I saw him looking at something back at the restaurant when I flew up to check on him." He scrutinized the memory even further, "Come to think of it, he seemed kinda jumpy when I called on him…"

While the changeling scrunched his brow in thought, Raven and Cyborg glanced at one another. That was when Robin proclaimed he had something to do. More and more, the so-called coincidence was become intentional.

"Where is Robin?"

The three turned around to the living room doors with Starfire standing at the top of the stairs. She gracefully walked down the steps to meet the group.

"He's off in Disturb-and-Die research mode to look up the perps," Beast Boy explained as if it was obvious and followed up with a question of his own, "What took you so long?"

The alien tensed a bit by the question, "Oh, um, Red X proposed to be escorted to the centre of the downtown district." She hoped it was a reasonable answer as no one questioned her further. "But concerning Robin, why has he not made use of the medical facilities for his injuries?"

"Because he's an ass," Cyborg huffed.

Starfire blinked. First Red X, now Cyborg. She really couldn't understand why people are associating Robin with the rear end of the body. All she understood was in both instance, they were used in a derogatory form. "I…see… Perhaps I should talk with him afterwards."

"We'll just…deal with him later. Right now, the police'll be eager to get a hold of this." Cyborg plucked the master disc and placed it in a panel on his left forearm, "They may have something in their own files about these creeps. You two," he nodded towards Raven and Beast Boy, "catch Star up on the situation."

"And?" the changeling added.

Raven stood before the console and booted up the computer's criminal records cache, "And then we research."

That they did, all night long.

oooooo

Night soon became day again with the sun shining as brightly as ever in the autumn season. It also meant today was the last day of the brother's time off.

"What do you mean 'compromised'?"

While lying on the bed with his suit on and arms crossed behind his head, Tom watched his brother looking very displeased on the cell phone.

"You mean he snitched us?" Jack kept his agitation in check as he knew better than to raise his voice to the caller on the other end of the line. He crinkled his brow, "He didn't know? Room bugged! Uh-huh… Right..."

The taller brother nodded as if the speaker on the other line was standing in front of him. Tom could see his brother become more and more agitated. "What's wrong?" he mouthed silently.

Jack help up a hand in a simple gesture asking his younger brother to wait. He continued to pace in the executive room of the hotel they stayed at, listening intently to the phone. "Tonight? All right, it's not like we have a choice now, do we?" Few more nods and he said his closing, "I know, love you too," and snapped the cellular phone shut.

Red eyes exposed without his glasses on, Tom sat up, "Well?"

Jack shook his head, "We're back to work. Now."

"What!" Tom exasperated, "Can't it wait? I mean, we only have half a day left! It's been years since we had descent time off."

"I know I know," the elder agreed with his younger brother, "but we have a possible breach."

"Breach?" Tom's whining voice became solid as a rock upon hearing the type of situation, "How?"

White-gloves shrugged, grabbing his coat off the second bed and putting it on, "We're assuming it's a phone tap. How or why, we have no idea. But the cops got a copy of the recording… Remember when the Duke called?"

Thomas nodded in remembrance, "Is it possible he was setting us up?"

Jack shook his head, "Not likely. Seems a tape or disc or_ something_ containing a recording of a phone call got into the hands of Jump City police. They're demanding Bludhaven to cooperate in making a warrant for the big guy. Duke may be able to bribe the Blud-boys to slow down the investigation, but it'll be inevitable once the Jumps come in." Feeling the stress rise, he took out and lit a cigarette. Slowly he sat down next to his brother's bed, "We have to make sure any evidence to our whereabouts is non-existent."

"Well that's just great," the younger muttered, "And I wanted to cage the bird tonight…" He rubbed the cut on his upper arm, the suit's fabric still slashed. The sampling he had last night lasted to the early morn. Now that the boy's taste was known, he could faintly feel the anxiety feeding his mind. It satiated his stomach for now, but fast becoming an addiction. "Have you ever seen the most perfect body?" Tom nudged his brother with his elbow and stole the cigarette for a puff himself. "And man, he has secrets to hide in here alright," he smirked, tapping the side of his head.

White-gloves re-captured his cig already halfway burnt and ashes landing wherever they fell. "Must've been good stuff. Thought you were drunk last night." He had a taste himself, but probably incomparable to a direct drinking of the boy's fear.

"I think I was," Tom admitted, "but seemed like someone else made a nest in there. Little Redbreast was tussled up before we came along." His hand reached to take back the tobacco but his brother had smoked it dry. Oh how he longed to see what his new favourite bird looked underneath the stretched costume, "Can't we just hold off a wee bit longer?" A noticeable pout pleaded with his sibling.

With a smile of sympathy, Jack patted his brother's knee, "You know the rules: business before pleasure. Catch the bird another time." He stood up and tugged on the other's shoulder, "We really do need to be in Bludhaven by nightfall."

Pouting Tom nodded. This was important and the rules had to be followed.

But he really did look forward to a pretty pet.

oooooo

He had fallen asleep overnight in the research room looking through file after file. He stayed there morning, afternoon, now at night still fishing for clues. Amongst the clutter on the table full of trinkets and paper, a simple digital clock read ten fifty-seven PM. Newspaper clippings adorned on the walls, and only a single source of light stay lit to scare the darkness away from its single occupant.

Robin rubbed his temple; ungodly hours have passed with not a single lead. The only forced rest he allowed himself lasted a whole two minutes because, as he expected, Starfire visited him. Or rather was checking up on him. The tower had long since been quiet since she left, and he heard the low hum of nightly security booting up upon Cyborg's command. He nor Raven or Beast Boy came by and he suspected they didn't want to deal with him in his current mood.

Obviously the others had no luck in finding a match to their extensive criminal file either. Since their own resources yielded zero results, Robin hacked into the police computers of not only Jump City's but its neighbouring cities hit with the same string of crimes. Even still, he came up with nothing except discovering that an unhealthy number of criminals had names or aliases containing "Jack" or "Tom."

The young leader of the Titans listened to the recording ten too many times to the point of practically memorizing it like a script. Each time his ears tried to cling to any clues the mob boss may have given away but came up empty handed. He rubbed his temple again in frustration.

All he had to go on besides the disc was a mental image in his head and the voices that went along with the characters in the photographic story. Images that crept back into his head distorting his concentration all day and night.

An image of fingertips trailing his chest, brushing against his chin, touching down there…

The cold…

A cold in the form of fear engulfed him then and he just couldn't understand why such irrationality erupted so suddenly. Very few times in his young life had he had been that intensely afraid; the only event to surpass it would be the death of his parents. But this was a different kind of fear, bordering on the line of morbid terror.

Involuntary shudders traversed his body. He slammed his fist on the table rattling the littered items, demanding himself to seize control. No matter what, the cold licked his spine wanting to be invited. Sometimes the cold managed to slip a breath on skin, like hands softly stroking against flesh.

Why wouldn't it stop?

Boiling anger attempted to conceal the fear, and in front of his friends it worked. Peer pressure tended to do that. They didn't prod anymore questions, for today, but Robin couldn't blame them for asking and demanding. They didn't deserve the treatment he would throw at them when they put up with him so much. Though he was good at hiding things, he didn't want to repeat alienating them like in the days of the birth of Red X but—

…Red X.

That was another mystery itching to be solved. It was not the question of "who" as in the case of Slade, but "why." Much to his own surprise, Boy Wonder felt partly guilty for yelling at him like he did when the thief offered his assistance. To make it worse, X wasn't even asked to help.

He just…did.

There was one thing he figured out about the teenager who stole his suit: Red X was a thrill-seeker, in love with excitement and danger. That explained his taunting of Robin when he could have stolen the xynothium in complete secrecy with the suit, and when X actually came to help save the city even if some selfish motivation was involved. Only there was no cheap thrill this time around.

Robin snaked his hand through his hair. X had seen him in a very awkward position. Despite his protest to the thief, there was no denying potential rape, or molestation at the very least, was involved. Innuendos he much rather not understand made that clear enough. He closed his eyes in a vain attempt to shut it all away.

Had X heard the pleadings? Seen the struggles? Witnessed a vulnerable baby bird crying for release?

Any answer to those was downright hard to accept. Tired of the questions, Robin leaned back in the chair as his cape slipped over his shoulders shrouding his upper body.

Underneath it all, the disturbed part of him was fourteen. "Robin" was the one carrying the anger and frustration. He just had to keep separating the two to function proficiently in this case. Personal feelings had no right in investigative affairs.

_-"Getting yourself involved with this will only cause you to drown further than you already are."-_

Robin stared at the disc containing the recording. A piece of evidence of Red X's conscience.

"Who does he think he is?" Robin murmured.

A simply advise devoid of sarcasm and play for once. X basically told him he wouldn't be able to handle whatever that came his way. Perhaps he thought little of the Boy Wonder after all. But that concept had to acknowledge some level of respect between the two was involved, and that was something Robin wanted to avoid.

Maybe it was the work of fatigue when a smile touched his lips. The teen recalled memories of his mentor and father-figure having a similar problem with a certain feline-themed criminal. Certain situations were made worse by the fact the cat burglar was a woman. For countless times she would tempt his mentor on some chase or worked together for a mutual goal. Teasing about that relationship was one of few times when Robin could elicit a reaction close to embarrassment as he could get from the Dark Knight.

A knock on the door interrupted his reminiscing and got up to answer. Robin expected Starfire or Cyborg to be standing in the hallway resolved to get him to bed or demand a more thorough explanation. But instead, "…Raven."

"I'll be brief." Her voice was terse, demanding attention.

The mistress didn't ask to come in and Robin hadn't offered. He knew she wasn't here for a nightly salutation.

"Normally I would leave you alone like you would with me," she said as if to remind him of their unspoken rules for each other, "but this has happened one too many times."

Another surprise hit Boy Wonder: he had no idea what she was talking about, "What has?"

"Locking yourself away from us to run off and do your own thing, telling us half the truth when it could be detrimental to the team in the long run. We all thought days like this were fading away after the last time." She took a step forward, her cloak hiding the movement of her legs giving the illusion she was floating, "Despite the mistakes made in the past you obviously haven't learnt anything. Quite frankly, you're causing problems for all of us."

Robin felt like he was just slapped in the face, either from the brusque remark or from the sparks of truth. Reflexes kicked his defence into line, "If you're implying I'm the only one with problems getting in the way of the team and hiding things, then you better look in that mirror of yours."

Raven narrowed her eyes unobstructed by the hood. Robin knew brief points about her past and her family, and only recently had she had a glimpse into his past through his eyes. "And so I work to keep control to not disrupt the workings of this team and for myself. But you keep yourself exempt from common sense." She let herself a moment to breathe to cool down her heating anger. Though she wondered why she approached the boy at all, she partially blamed the mind meld for possibly having made her more perceptive to him than first realized. And the radiation of fear from the city wasn't helping with her meditation to keep her calm. "Something happened yesterday," Raven slowly started, "and you were doing a pitiful job of hiding that fact."

The dreaded topic reared its head again. She could tell it bothered him when his chest swelled slightly to make himself bigger, like a cat standing its fur on end. Robin realized denying something happened will not work with this Titan, but that didn't mean he had to explain the details. "What happened is of no concern with this case. Has it occurred to you that maybe I simply don't want to let everyone know how I got my ass handed to me?" He hoped that partial truth would satisfy her.

"……"

He took that silence as an acceptance and was about to curtly close the door on her when she took another step forward.

"I felt _more_ than a battered ego," Raven hushed a warning.

It was Robin's turn to be speechless and hide his apprehension. As if one unbidden probe wasn't enough, she had to do it again? "I'd appreciate it," he hissed through his teeth, "if you ask before you barge into another's mind."

Raven refused to get intimidated, "I didn't make it my business to prod. I try to keep my emotions in control; it's not my fault you can't keep yours in check." She watched the scowl form on his face. That point had hit a mark. "I can understand the need to stuff yourself away in the dark, more than you know. Just don't drag us with you." Without waiting for a response, she left down the dark hallway as if nothing happened.

Robin slapped the switch to shut the door and turned back to the middle of the room. Fingers curled around the edge of the table, squeezing out the stress he just built up. Usually he had the last word in a verbal dispute but evidently his opponent didn't want any of it. Out of the team, Raven was the one he expected to give him the stone cold facts, but he didn't imagine it would feel like he committed a horrid sin. Probably her tactic was to drop the bomb on him fast and unexpected.

All that exploded was extra burden on his shoulders and a call for more introspection to last him a lifetime—because she was right.

Like an alcoholic reaching for a bottle of rum, Robin searched through and re-read some of the police files again. He got himself acquainted with the history of the Duke and Hierarch looking for a pattern in their crimes hours ago but thought to do it again. Below the single light fixture, the recording disc's glint caught his eye.

And underneath the disc was a photograph of a corpse of a little girl, one of the victims he had looked into the other day. The fatigue and guilt melted away with determination taking their place. For the first time since the series of child kidnappings and murders erupted, he could see himself in that picture rather than just sympathize. It made him wonder if this was how Beast Boy felt about his dreams. The changeling had no problems telling his friends about his nightmares to seek comfort.

Maybe that was what everyone wanted from him.

But speaking of dreams and reality were two different things. If it was only about pure fighting, explaining what happened would be easier and likely to divulge. However, it wasn't about the fighting this time. How could he talk of the photos with the dead robin neatly packaged in the form of a sick present? They would certainly never leave him alone or worse, cage him in the Tower.

Those two bastards were taunting him but he wouldn't give them the satisfaction. Not more than he already had.

Robin straightened his back, checking to make sure his utility belt was fully replenished. If he couldn't find results amongst the resources in the Titans' disposal, then fishing for clues at the source was the only option. He just had to make sure he came back to the tower before any of the others awoke. After what happened, they would never let him out there alone unless they moved as a group. But he didn't want distractions when he had to deal with more questions. He wouldn't be able to show his face if they knew what had irked him. And as he was told, burdening them anymore than present was not an option.

Memorizing the Duke's address, Robin left to find an extra glove for his gauzed hand in his room. Night grew short and he needed to get out, now.

* * *

I hope it was understandable why Raven was acting the way she was... I originally planned to add the next scene in this chapter to end as a cliffhanger, but since it was getting too long, thought I'd save it for next time ;) 

-Art of Silence


	5. And So Will I Have Mine

* * *

Argh on so many levels.

First of all, thank you to all who have reviewed, and to the person who apparently reccomended this fic to others :O Very pleasant surprise and quite unexpected. Though I always have doubts about my writing (this chapter is no exception;;) , it is gratifying to know that this story has been received well by readers out there.

Second, I do admit this story is going rather slowly, and I don't know if I'm doing that on purpose or not. I may be subconsciously trying to weed out casual "superficial" readers from committed readers. Or I just don't know how to edit at all XP

Third, I've been preoccupied by personal matters, and I sparsely written this chapter. So expect some irregularities since I kept writing without reading back whenever I got the chance to write. It hasn't been revised very well or checked for fluidity much. I'm too distracted right now to do it right and I didn't realize that this turned out much too long. Writing sporatically can make you forget those details.

Note: Whole paragraphs in _italics _are events occuring in the psychological plane.

Not beta-read.

* * *

5: And So Will I Have Mine

The shortcuts worked perfectly and Robin arrived to a secluded mansion away from the dirt and grime of Bludhaven streets within an hour on his R-cycle. With one movable iron gate as the opening, it was lying in the open with a concrete fence and a grove of pine trees growing a good distance away behind the building where he parked his transport. Within the stone walls, exotic plants lined the pathway to the front door. Statues of marble capturing the image of angels enhanced the home's external look of wealth.

However, besides the sound of nocturnal birds and buzzing of insects, it was very quiet. And empty. Robin surveyed the landscape and the mansion's surroundings. Save for one dull light barely glowing out a window, there was not a stir of human life. He swept thought the area with his night vision binoculars and couldn't identify a single guard posted for security. If the guards were hiding, at least a couple of henchmen should be standing visible to deter anyone to cause trouble.

Not wanting to spurn this opportunity, Robin cautiously made his way to the wall using any trees and shrubs as cover. He climbed up the trunk of a tree nearest to the wall. Balancing across a high, sturdy branch, the teen leapt over the barrier and landed soundlessly on the other side. Remaining crouched from absorbing the shock of the landing, the Titan held still in the shadows while observing once more for possible security. Once his scanning of his surroundings was satiated, he swiftly reached the window with faint light seeping through on the ground floor of the mansion.

The teen was about to begin to test the window for security rigs when a soft, grinding sound caught his attention. It was like air itself was being gently sandpapered. Actually, the more Robin listened to it, the more it sounded like Beast Boy in one of those nights when the gang would fall asleep on the living room couch after an all night movie marathon. He pushed that thought away; now was not the time to bring up amusing memories of what pranks they would pull with a deeply asleep Changeling. Hugging his body to the building's wall, Robin crept towards the sound of the snore until he reached an indentation in the building. The closed surroundings amplified the sound louder than it actually was. Despite the amplification, Boy Wonder could decipher another sound of a snore, this time right around the corner only three metres away.

Thinking it was safer to take things step by step, Robin peered around the corner of the indentation. There lying against a wall leaving a door partially obstructed was one of the Duke's goons fast asleep. From the posture the man was in, the teen deducted someone dragged him into the little niche. He narrowed his eyes and decided to see if the other source of the snore was encased in deep sleep as well.

Sure enough, around the corner of the mansion to its front, there were two more men sprawled on the lawn. Though only one of the two was snoring, Robin could tell from the rising of their chests that both were indeed asleep. It was clear now that another unexpected guest has visited the crime lord. Refusing the temptation to walk in straight through the front doors, he decided to use the window as he first intended.

He headed back to the one he approached and inspected it for wires and sensors. Once satisfied that it was safe, Robin cracked open the lock and steadily pulled the glass pane out.

Robin landed in what looked like a hallway, and only a single lamp on a small, side table lit the environment. The lack of decent lighting didn't deter the Titan's vision as he was adept to working in the dark. However, the silence itself seemed alive, like the building had just swallowed him whole. A shiver grazed his neck and he resisted the urge to shake in response.

One by one he passed by doors. Some had more snores behind them while others were quiet whenever he leaned against their wooden surface. More than one occasion, Robin met with more sleeping thugs and many of them looked as if they just dropped to slumber land right where they stood. The teen told him self to take more precaution in case whoever it was that did this was still in the house.

Finally reaching a staircase, Robin worked his way up, opting the Duke's office was on the higher floor. It was a winding flight of steps, blanketed by a red carpet with gold trimmings, spiralled around a giant chandelier dangling in silent beauty. Obviously the Duke liked to live by his name of royalty.

From the top of stairs Robin looked down, noticing an interesting detail. The carpet, lying on hardwood and marble floor, was strategically placed in certain areas. To be precise, it covered from the main front entrance, sharply turning in the middle of the grand hallway to up the stairs. Looking down to his feet, he noticed how the carpet continued on one direction while the other way had bare marble floors. Even the Boy Wonder raised an eyebrow of such narcissist display. _Follow the proverbial yellow brick road, _he thought to himself.

At the end of the road was a double door of pure white with elaborate Roman carvings decorating the panels. It left no doubt this was the Duke's room, either office or bedroom. Right now, he didn't care which it was at the moment as the door was left open. A generous amount of opening revealed the room on the other side lacked lighting as well, except moonlight forcing its way through a window.

A gloved hand slowly pushed the door further, just enough to slide his body through. From what he could gather, it was the main office. A book shelf near a large window lined the back, a fairly large desk in front of it, and renaissance-style furniture in garnet red were accompanied with plants beside each.

Robin approached the desk devoid of any papers but pens and a miniature grandfather clock set in their places. The cushioned chair that should be behind the desk was parked almost chaotically against the bookcase. And the closer he got, the Titan had the oddest notion that the desk was… sniffing?

Yes, something was definitely sniffing, a sound of someone upset. Tilting his head to the side, Robin walked around the desk to look at the opening where the chair and legs would neatly fall into place. In spite of the lighting, he saw a ghost of a movement from the opening.

Then a voice accompanied the movement, "Wh, who are you…?"

There was no malice or defiance in that tone. It was clear from the male voice that he had been crying and was doing a pitiful job at calming himself down. Even so, that didn't prohibit the boy from using a bit of force to extract information.

Robin reached in with his uninjured hand, grabbed the stranger's collar and dragged him out. The outline of the scrawny figure created by the moonlight enhanced the fear in the voice, "L, let go!" He tried to pull off the grip but his strength was used up in his tears.

Obviously not needing too excessive force, Robin opted to just let the individual stay sitting on the floor and lowered himself to his knees. The man's crumpled attire told a story of a person who was a worrier, and at this particular time, a flustered individual as well. Despite the meek exterior, the teen had immediately connected the voice he heard from the recording to the lithe man before him. Distraught or not, this was a criminal associated with a sick crime and leeway was the last thing on his mind for a scumbag. "I'll be asking the questions, _Leonard_," Robin growled. Eyes what he could make out to be brown widened, affirmed that his conjecture was correct.

Leonard let himself relax—but only just enough to settle his tremors. It came to him that the figure in front of him was not someone he was cowering from before. He could tell the one gripping his collar was a kid, but a kid with an amazingly strong grasp for someone his size. Either way, he was smart enough to know he was still in trouble and kept silent.

Receiving no resistance, Robin relaxed his grip to let air flow more freely in the man's throat. A suspect passing out in hyperventilation didn't go well with interrogation, "First, where's your boss? And second… why were you hiding under the desk?"

Brown eyes shifted left and right frantically, searching around the room for man or ghost. He took his time it seems as he felt his collar tightening around his further, "Ugh—I, I was—I… Th, the boss is away, on—on business!"

Boy Wonder drew the other's face closer, "What kind of business?"

At that range, Leonard found himself realizing the white's of the vigilante's mask was like diving into oblivion, "He didn't say much to me… If, if you're here for what I think you're here for," he took a gulp, "the boss may be swaying the cops right now…" His whole body tensed in case that was an answer the boy did not want to hear.

Robin made a mental note: apparently the Duke had ears in Jump City as well. The recording was given to Jump police only a day ago and they would have kept it quiet until they were ready to move in with a warrant. And, of course, obtaining additional papers to dodge the Bludhaven police's jurisdiction took time. Shelving that note away, he turned his full attention to the man, "And you?"

"…hiding…" was all Leonard managed to squeak out.

The Titan raised an eyebrow, "Yeah, I got that hint. From what?" Somehow, Robin felt he knew part of the answer, "From whoever's made everyone asleep?" In his grip, he could feel the man tightening his every muscle.

Leonard didn't know whether to say anything more in fear of retaliation from his boss, but mostly, from those that scared him out of his mind. But now his collar enclosed around his neck even further, to the point that just a flick of a wrist would cause him to choke. Instead of words, he frantically nodded.

"How many?" Judging from the way the man looked, Robin added, "Are they _still_ here?" As if the lithe adult couldn't shake more than he already was, he set a new record and the Teen felt it like an earthquake.

"I…I don't know…" To Leonard, that was the thought that scared him the most.

Robin got the impression the subordinate was not going to be of much help, "Don't know how many? Or don't know if they're still around?"

"…B, both…" and sniffles followed telling he was unable to talk much longer.

That gesture was enough to tell the teen he was not a party to whoever invaded the mansion. If there was no more information from that route he could retrieve, he would take a detour, "You know why I'm here, right?" Robin received a nod, "Good. I want information on those your boss hired to kidnap the child.

"I…I can't…" Leonard whimpered.

Robin shoved the man against the drawers beside the hollow of the desk, "_Not_ what I wanted to hear."

Jarred into focus, thin ringers wrapped around green-gloved wrists but there was no strength behind the clasp, "I mean _I don't know_! The boss… he… he made the deal on his own… He said that's how they want it, one on one transaction…"

"_Transaction?_" The young teen felt his stomach tighten, and solidified his hand to the collar lest he punched the man out cold, "Is that how you all see these kids? Merchandise!"

Leonard froze, watching the kid grow twice as large. The vigilante weaved the darkness around him, to be part of its omniscient presence. Like the accused before the judge, Leonard tried to plead his case, "I swear! I swear I hated what the boss was doing! It's repulsive! I just couldn't stand it… his hands on her like…. but, what can I do! Look at me! I can't fight off a kid like you let alone the boss' guards!" Seeing the sneer grow even more on the young face told him that was not the best description to persuade the other. "I mean…. I'm just a follower," he continued in a defeated tone, "Following orders is what I do best, even if I don't like it. He would've had me killed if I didn't keep my mouth shut and do as he says—"

"Don't give me that crap," Robin spurned the man to the side, knocking him down to the hardwood floor, "that excuse doesn't work for war criminals and it certainly won't work for you. If you genuinely abhorred what he was doing, you would have done something, _anything_ to save that kid…"

It was guilt's turn that shackled the man and he couldn't help but stare at the floor as that accusation weighed on him. He did try to pacify her, give as much comfort as possible but the silence he received from the little girl was deafening. What went on in his boss' bedroom was not exactly known to him, but just imagining the unspeakable acts that probably went on in there made his heart skip.

Calming himself out of the cloud of anger, Robin realized he neglected to ask a critical question, "Is the child still here?" His voice was softer this time to coax an answer.

Eyes still unable to look at the boy before him, Leonard feebly nodded, "Down the hall… doors are like this room…" His defeated voice seemed to have hushed his own tremors, accepting what role he had in all this. "She's probably sleeping right now…"

Sympathy was tugging Robin's cape, and as much as he urged himself to lock that away for now, it managed to take root. Despite the wrong choices the man has made, in the end, he understood that decency dwelled within him. It just wasn't strong enough to overtake fear. Releasing a sigh the teen didn't realize he held, he removed a pair of handcuffs from his utility belt. He enclosed one end to Leonard's wrist, the other wrapped around one of the legs of the heavy oak desk. In this way, the poor flunky had access to hide under the desk again.

Leonard stared at the silver glistening off the metal accessory, "Don't worry, I ain't going no where…"

Robin stood up, looking down on the man one last time before letting out the same soft tone, "Just procedure." Then he made his way out the room to follow the uncarpeted side of the hallway.

Hanging on the long, white walls were paintings, and it exemplified that the Duke had a fondness for the Renaissance. Here and there were more tables with trinkets of statues or potted plants and an occasional lamp. Those were the only ones lighting the room as it was downstairs.

Except, those details seem miniscule compared to the mental brace he had to make for himself. Before long, the young leader stood before the same designed doors as the office. Standing before the doors, he didn't stop to think what he would see behind those doors. Was he prepared for an image that could certainly be burned in his mind for life? And was it a stupid idea to face this alone? Does he want the answer to these questions at this point of no return?

He muzzled those self-inquiries; now was no the time for second thoughts. The doors gave way as green gloved-hands pushed them opened. Stepping into the dark where even moonlight had a hard time seeping through the curtains, the more sounds of sniffles fogged the air. It was soft and delicate, belonging to a child crying for who knows how long. Robin's hands balled into fists, his heart breaking at the sound that. Despite its cooing qualities, he felt daggers stabbing his chest with every catch of breath.

Using what little light the hallway offered seeping into the room, he guided himself to the nearest lamp and begrudgingly pulled on the ball-chain.

Once the room placidly illuminated, the sound of crying stopped but the catching of breath and sucking in nasal mucus still continued. Still uncertain of what he would see, Robin turned to meet the girl face to face.

And he found himself deprived of words.

Not from the sight of bruised lips, nor how her tears stained her delicate cheeks. In fact, on the outside, she looked relatively unharmed under the frills of an elaborate pink, princess dress. Sitting on her knees on top the canopied bed with silk drapes added to the storybook scene, she looked very much like a Victorian porcelain doll. Robin was sure that was exactly the look the monster that touched her intended.

But that's not what made his breathing stop with a loud gasp.

He remembered holding her as she jumped into his arms after he cracked open the glass cage of the bizarre heart monster named Cardiac. He remembered calming her, and how Starfire doted on her to relieve the girl of the stress. He remembered the team giving her a ride home as Beast Boy distracted her from the experience she went through with his animal counterparts. He remembered Cyborg playfully teasing her that her Robin swooped in to rescue the fair Maid Marion. He remembered meeting her mother and the look on her face seeing her dearest daughter back safe.

The little girl had a name, a fact that made this second chance meeting all the more tragic.

She stared at the figure standing in the middle of the room, not quite sure what to make of things. So many things happened, so many things that can never be changed and never return. In spite of it all, the fear she had whenever someone entered the room didn't touch her this time. The red, green and black of the boy very much familiar to her and he could tell she remembered.

Robin forced himself to focus on the now and the now demanded him to get her out fast. In laggard steps he reached the large bed while the girl still fixated on him like she was watching a dream approach. Her sniffles were gone but the traces of tears still drenched her face. The teen had the urge to let her know she was safe now and that he was real. "Hey...," he cooed to her, "you remember me right?"

Taking a moment to absorb who it actually was speaking to her, she nodded twice, blinking away her tears. Even though it was plastered with a mask, it was a familiar face and one associated with good people.

The Titan smiled just a little at the acknowledgement, a show of some happy expression to let her know she was being saved was needed. "Are you hurt, Mary?" He felt like an idiot as soon as those words left his mouth. The scars were embedded deeper than flesh and running rampant in mind. But she shook her head, though it was obvious her lips had been… used. It was much too painful to look at.

Seeing how calm she was to his presence, Robin lifted himself onto the mattress and stood on his knees. He shifted to her side, reaching out a hand for her to hold or maybe inspect to show there was nothing devious afoot. The boy could only imagine what she must have gone through.

Mary gazed from the hand to its owner's face and back. Maybe it was because their first chance meeting played out like a knight galloping to answer his lady's call, but she gingerly reached out and her small hand clasped his fingers with little hesitation. She felt warmth through the fabric of the gloves, the good kind of warmth she felt when her mother rubbed her hands in the wintertime. But that memory was all too bittersweet.

"It's ok. You won't stay here any longer…" Robin said, glad to know that there was strength behind that simple gesture, and heartened that despite what she went through, she held onto sanity. Except, he observed not hearing anything beyond a whimper from her and that worried him, "Come on, I'll take you back home..." He reached out his other hand, still gauzed within the glove to brush away the watery stains on her cheeks from chilling her skin in the cool room.

Her puffy eyelids batted once, a sudden saddened expression highlighting her features. It wasn't the reaction the teen expected. "What's wrong? Your mother must be sick with worry—" She didn't let him finish as she reached out and plunged into his chest. The gesture urged him to sink his arms around her while she hanged hers around his neck. He realized the talk of going home was troubling her, and he could only guess the worse as to why—a horrible, cruel why. Anger rose but blanketed by sympathy and heart ache. The road ahead for the girl was going to be long and hard.

And to add to the perversity of it all, Robin had yet to hear her sweet, charming voice he remembered from their time together before. The fear that trauma has taken a casualty after all weighed on his soul.

They let the silence talk in their stead, their arms still wrapped around the other for that once elusive comfort. But unfortunately, the moment of mourning was short lived with the flick of a switch of the main bedroom lights in the ceiling.

"I don't believe it…"

Robin felt Mary turn into a statue from that foreign voice and he couldn't help stop his own body to react the same. It couldn't be…

"This must be a sign." The sound of an enormous grin on Thomas' face was loud and clear, "Lady Luck is smiling upon us after all."

He couldn't accept it. The sound of the voice turned his legs to lead and his bandaged fingers growing numb. He wasn't supposed to meet them here or ever again if he had a choice. And it would seem fate was cruel enough to deny him that.

Robin didn't turn around, too occupied with a girl starting to weep again, and the struggling battle to keep his own tremors in check. Now was not the time to remember those slithering touches. The bundle in his arms became the anchor to his rationality.

"Just what are you babbling abou—" Jack stopped mid-sentence once he entered the room and followed his brother's line of vision, "Well I'll be damned more than I already am..." Seeing their little bird huddled with a chick in a nest made of silk was a very beautiful sight.

Tom just laughed seeing his older sibling's reaction, "And you said I was drunk when I felt Redbreast's smell again." He lightly slapped the taller man's arm with the back of his hand, clearly enjoying this unexpected bonus in their work.

Clutching a folder full of documentation, Jack tried to remain professional despite his obvious joy, "Talk about two birds with one stone..." Both took several steps forward to cover half the distance between them and their victims.

Robin clenched his teeth while Mary stared at them with fear. If he was to get out of this in one piece, he had to do this right. He turned his head slightly towards Mary's ear while she still clutched his neck. With a whisper so quiet only she could hear, he instructed her, "Mary, I want you to close your eyes and face down. Hold on to me tight. Whatever you do, don't open your eyes until I tell you to…" There was no response of any kind acknowledging his instructions. Mistakes were not allowed in his critical situation and the Boy Wonder had to be sure she understood, "If you understand what I've asked, squeeze your hand on my shoulder twice." Moments passed and he received the signal.

The brother's praising and prodding at their stroke of luck on their findings was distracting enough for him to move his right arm to his belt while the other gripped the child. From the belt he retracted a small metal sphere no more the size of a gumball.

Red-gloves tilted his head as a question he asked was unanswered by the boy, "What's wrong, precious? Cat got your tongue?"

Ignoring that grating voice, Robin started his move. "Close your eyes," he instructed in the same whisper and Mary complied. The Titan twirled his upper body halfway and threw the sphere before the feet of the two brothers but turned back before it impacted on the floor.

"What the—" was all Jack could say before the room turned white.

An incredibly blinding flash of light saturated the room. The light was so powerful not even sunglasses protected against its blinding effect. But turned away the light had less of an impact, and Robin's specialized mask further blocked the flash.

It wouldn't cause serious retinal damage, but potent enough to cause a successful distraction. Robin heard the brothers yelling from the initial burst of light, causing obvious temporary pain from the unsuspecting stimulus. Clutching Mary in his arms, Robin jumped off the bed and zigzagged his way around the two men and swiftly made it outside into the hallway. The effects of the blast would not last long, so his focus centered in getting out of the house fast and at all costs.

He made it to the top of the winding stairway and accessed it would waste precious seconds to manually go down each step. Clutching the girl with one hand, the other propelled his and her entire weight over the banister. As the air whooshed around the two as gravity pulled them down, Mary's grip around Robin's neck tightened. Her eyes were still closed and the sudden feeling of falling was made worse by it.

A loud clank resounded off the walls once the Boy Wonder landed on the first floor. Without a moments rest he continued to run down to the main entrance, skipping over any legs of sleeping bodies clogging the way. At the doorway, the massive marble doors decorated with steel sat imposing, but he promptly twisted their weakness of the knob and pulled. But the door would not budge. He checked the locks, using both positions of the lock handle to try and open the door but nothing worked. Regardless of what the door was made of, there was no reason he would have difficulty moving it.

Taking the drastic route, the Titan stepped back and removed an explosive disc. He let it fly and the disc immediately exploded upon contact. The smoke settled away revealing the doors still intact. Not even a scratched marred the surface. Though he opted for another attempt, with the sound of footsteps beginning on the second floor, he didn't have time to find the solution to his puzzle and ran for the window he came through.

Down the corridor Robin saw the window had remained open and opted to just leap through it. Just a few more strides and he'd be in open air. But just as he reached the windows, they slammed in on themselves sealing the exit. The teen skidded to a halt, just barely stopping before he collided with the glass. There was no wind that would have been like a vacuum to shut the windows.

He let Mary down gently on the floor, telling her it was alright to open her eyes now. Like the doors, he checked the locks and pushed on the glass pane. And like the doors it didn't move a budge. Something had shut them, sealing them inside. His fist smashed into the glass leaving a wide crack. The rhythm of footsteps was only getting louder and the smallest flutter of panic stirred in the pit of his stomach. Looking down at his young friend, Robin could see she was afraid of what would come down the opposite side of the hallway.

Wasting no time, he eyed the small table holding the single lamp. Striding over, the Titan swiped the lamp off and with its loud crash the artificial light went with it too. With only the moonlight supporting his sight, Robin ushered the girl away from the window while carrying the table by the legs. Drawing back the furniture, he let out a cry of expended power and smashed the window into a shower of crystal blades. Mary cringed at the sound, huddling herself to the wall where she stood. Her bare feet exposed to the cold floor only fuelled her shivers from all that was happening.

The cool night air seeped in again. "Hang on," Robin told the child bringing her back into his arms and wrapped her in his protective cape. Stepping back for more room, he sprinted and jumped up through the window landing safely on his feet again. Shards of glass cracked and crushed under his metal boots.

The bundle in his arms peered out of his cape feeling the movements of running again. She looked up at her rescuer and winced at the red cuts lining his right cheek and forehead. Looking over to his limbs, few places here and there on his legs unprotected by the titanium cape sported cuts as well. There were no profuse bleedings, but even superficial wounds must sting by the sharp touch of cold air.

Reaching the wall, Robin took out his grapple and aimed for a limb of the tree he used to trespass. Upon the hook's contact with wood, he pushed a switch to pull the two up towards the plant. Using the momentum and angle, when the Boy Wonder reached the right peak he swung over the wall, landed and sprinted again in one continuous motion.

Only about half way to his R-cycle did Robin let a bit of himself feel relieved. It was also when he realized just how hard his heart was pounding in his chest. It was the drum of adrenaline and only that, not fear, and for the girl's sake he had to convince himself.

Looking over his shoulder, Mary saw something that made her hazel eyes widen. The almost painful grip by her tore Robin away from calming his heart to turn his head to her line of sight. He gasped, his own eyes widening as what looked like a whole tree was flying at them like an arrow.

Robin ducked and rolled to the side away from the tree's flight path. The young pine tree hurled pass in a blurry rustle of leaves and branches. It slid down the rest of the way leaving a trail of ploughed dirt. Pushing up to a sitting position, he turned around to see a man in black approaching them. There was no denying who one of two identities walking towards their way was. How did he manage to catch up so fast? With that much of a head start, Boy Wonder would have made it out to the outskirts of Bludhaven with no problem. But he didn't have time to ponder that now; he had someone to protect.

The teen cooed Mary to calm down as he took one more look at the approaching man—only to find that no one was there. He furled his brow at the oddity, and the urging in the back of his mind told him not to think: just move. Quickly he stood up to his knees then to his feet, ready to swiftly dashed forward, making sure no one was behind him. But he only got in two steps before he crashed into something tall and large.

The velocity of his speed and the abrupt impact sent him and the girl to the cold grass again, the dew moistening his uniform. Shaking his head he looked up, all too surprised by the more muscled man of the two suited men.

"That wasn't very nice of you, boy," Jack forced a smile. Set backs in his line of business were not tolerable. "You're holding something we'd like back."

Robin held the girl closer and propelled himself to his knees again to make another jump start in the opposite side only to be facing another human wall—if he could call them human.

Thomas had his hands in his pockets with a look of a child in a candy store, "Though you're more than welcome to join her."

"_And I do hope you do," Tom whispered into the ear of the caped Titan leaning against the wall between doors. _

_His back tensed, realizing that the one who put him in this position was back._

_The place was almost as Tom left it, making his fingers tingle at the thought of his new toy in perpetual edge since their encounter. His cravings only grew the longer they were apart; the more he felt it and devoured it, but it wasn't enough to satiate him. There were some doors opened, some doors closed from the last time. Most notably was the wave of heat clashing with the wave of cold resulting in a brewing storm. Taking a better look under the dim lighting, the grit of the boy's teeth and a hand clenched to a fist told signs of defiance. And a swing of that fist—_

Tom barely dodged the punch aimed at his stomach but failed to see the twist of the teen's body to propel a consecutive kick to the same area. The impact caused him to skid across the slippery surface of wet grass, wincing while rubbing his stomach. The bird had grown an extra set of claws.

Robin did not dare let his back face the duo and walked backwards to keep both in sight. Whatever it was they were capable of, he realized running now would be futile unless at least one of them was incapacitated. "Stay behind me," he ordered as he let Mary to the ground, the moisture soaking her delicate feet. With the option of fighting as the only alternative, he needed both hands to be effective in combat. He extended his staff and took his battle stance. At this moment, his own fate seemed unimportant to the fate that might befall on the little girl if he did not allow her escape. Come what may, a child should never live the fate these monsters would enforce and his belief in that fanned his fire.

Jack approached the two children, eyeing his brother with the corner of his eye to make sure he was fine. He wasn't in the mood for "play" right now though he knew that could easily change, but the job at hand took precedent over recreation. Assuming the young crime fighter understood the sibling's connection to the child kidnappings, the older brother concluded letting him go this time would be most detrimental. "You're making this harder then it has to be, boy."

"You're not taking her again," Robin hissed, "Are you both so pathetic you pick on the most defenceless?"

A quick shuffle of feet and the red-gloved man was by his brother's side, "Spare us the moral outrage," Tom smirked. "Morals make for bad business."

His older brother nodded in agreement, "And I don't think she's quite defenceless with you around. So all's fair game then now, isn't it Redbreast?"

Just as the smile on Jack's face grew, Robin felt something pulling on his arms—or to be precise, on his staff. He increased his grip on the metal but it was soon proving that whatever force was working on the weapon was increasing its strength. Feeling the staff starting to slip, the teen seized it with his other hand, hoping the strength of both his arms was enough. But as strong as he was, he wasn't meta-strong.

"What the hell—" Robin looked up to glare at the man whom he suspected of the curious act. Jack casually shrugged with a grin and raising his hand, making a movement to the Titan to "come along." With that simple gesture, the staff almost yanked out of his grip but fast reflexes prevented it from slipping from his fingertips. He gritted his teeth and set his boots to the ground but, with the slippery surface and the burst of invisible energy slowly dragged him towards the men.

Though unsure of what was happening, little Mary could only see that her rescuer was struggling with something. She wrapped her small arms around Robin's right leg and with all her might she pulled as hard as she could.

Robin looked down while straining to hold onto the bo staff. His grimace turned into concern while watching her help in her own way. But he knew it wouldn't help. If this was a form of telekinesis, it seemed different from Raven's powers. As suspected, psychokinesis was probably the better term. Whatever it was that Tom did to him in the factory; his mind was affected more than body. Either way, he knew he was disadvantaged. Looking back at his options, they were much closer to his R-cycle than the mansion. "Mary," Robin remained his voice soft despite straining to hold onto his weapon, "over there, just within those trees, my motorcycle's there. When I give the signal, I want you to run over there as fast as you can."

Mary peered up with concern in her eyes. Was he going to leave her alone? Or asking to abandon him?

Boy Wonder caught the look, "I'm going to need help, Mary. I want you to get on it. There's a panel in front of the seat with buttons. Press the yellow button then the green. It'll call the good people for help." He waited for a sign of understanding but she just stared with concern. The worry in her large eyes told of her anxiety, for both of them. "You have to go Mary while I distract them here," Robin huffed while his arms were being strained. He could feel her hair slapping against his leg as she shook her head against the idea. As much as he appreciated her spirit, he did not want this debated. If it meant using harsh words against her, he would, "I can't fight properly if I have to look after you! Do as I say!"

Jack narrowed his eyes. He couldn't make out what was said, but he could tell a plan was setting into motion. The toying would have to stop sooner than he and his Tom hoped.

Startled out of holding onto the teen, Mary jumped back in surprise with her eyes wide. If he had the time, Robin would have felt regret for sounding so, for the lack of a better word, mean. But she finally reluctantly nodded in agreement.

Robin smiled at her for her understanding and faced his opponents again. Steadily the force grew in strength to the point his arms felt like they would pop from their sockets. But he didn't plan to fight against it anymore. He took the chance and warned the girl, "Now!"

The Titan leaned forward and leapt into the direction the force was pulling him. With that extra burst of speed he let himself sucked towards the brothers. Using the full force of his momentum, Robin slammed a kick at Jack. Because of the speed, White-gloves was barely being able to react to the attack and managed to avoid getting his neck snapped to the side with his forearms. The impact, however, sent him to the ground and the distraction ceased the pull on the staff.

Feeling the invisible chain lifted from his weapon, Robin landed and swung his staff at a startled Tom. Metal impacted chest and he collapsed to the earth once more. The teen readied again as the two men recovered. Any normal human being would have been hindered with broken bones by the sheer aggression of that kick, but Jack didn't even seem to have a scratch as he already got to one knee. The younger sibling, to his relief, was having a more trouble recovering. But in the corner of his eye, blonde hair distracted him, "Mary! I told you to go!"

The little girl felt her knees shaking under her dress, hands clasping to each other. Robin's yell managed to get her to move two steps but stopped again. Her eyes widened and mouth opened though no sound came out. She pointed behind the Titan, and he figured too late that it was a warning.

"That actually hurt," Jack growled. He seized the boy's shoulder and threw him face first into the ground. "If you want rough play then I sure as hell will give it to you, boy."

The Titan skidded across the ground protecting his head with his arms, a hand still holding onto his bo. Groggily, he recovered to his feet but the stars in his sight didn't stop quite as fast. Absently he massaged his shoulder, wincing as he felt the temporary depression in his skin where fingertips bit into. Again he saw Mary standing where she was before, and he felt frustration starting to intrude. But he can't lose his cool now if he had it to begin with.

Jack caught the line of sight, "Tom! Get the girl. The little bird is mine."

"Stay away from her!" Robin yelled with a pair of birdarangs as his stingers. He let them fly towards the red-gloved man already approaching her from his recovery. However, like before, they twisted against the laws of physics, instead stabbed the earth causing them to barely miss Tom's legs. Thomas narrowed his red eyes to connect with his brother's in thanks, but only found himself reacting the same way as Mary did to warn Robin.

Jack turned around just in time to have the side of his face slammed by the staff and fall hard to the ground. Robin landed and immediately followed by throwing his explosive discs around the other lone brother. Explosions flared but he stared at Mary and made sure to get his voice across, "Get out of here NOW!"

This time the message was received loud and clear. He watched Mary run past him and the two brothers and head for the trees nearby yet so far for her short legs. He only hoped she remembered which buttons to push in what order. Robin wanted her secured to the R-cycle before she pressed the green button for auto-piloting back to the Tower. Returning to his part of the plan, he brought his attention back to the taller man in time to see a punch heading for his head.

Tom fanned his hands around his face but didn't bother to move himself out of the smoke. It would be a waste of time and more importantly, he didn't need to. He searched the surroundings with his mind, sensing his brother and the little bird having a little rumble. Creeping further and further, he caught up to a small light and the desperation that light was emitting already lifted his vigour. But the Red-gloves preferred the taste of adrenaline-induced panic than any other—the type saturated with the knowledge of hopelessness from the victim.

Robin kept on the defensive against Jack's strikes. The speed of the man did not match the bulky build especially when his fighting style didn't speak of formal training. But the Titan had given up on thinking these people were "human." No matter how many hits landed, Jack seemed to only get stronger and a little more resilient. Without the sunglasses blocking their eyes, Robin could have sworn his irises seemed to glow brighter overtime of their fight.

Their spar was silent except for his own grunts while the older man seemed to find this fight nothing but a warm up. Thrusting with his staff, Robin parried an uppercut to his chin but he barely managed to stop it time to avoid getting hit by his own weapon from the force behind the momentum. If the man's strength was actually increasing, the Titan didn't know if he could last much longer. Wanting to end this as soon as possible, he reached around with his gloved hand to the back of his belt for another disc. But much to his chagrin, he couldn't open the slot they were in.

"No no, dear Redbreast," Jack shook a finger like he was berating a toddler, "none of that now." Smiling, eyes illuminated red underneath the moonlight. He approached the boy who looked frantic trying to open anything on his belt.

Clawing green-gloved fingers failed to open a single one and Robin realized he couldn't access his own weapons or his communicator. No one but himself in present company would know of the locking code of his belt. He looked up at the man, and around his surroundings. Things were not looking good.

Out of the corner of his eye, his heart almost skipped a beat of little Mary, crouched and clutching her head. The teen shouted after her, but did not receive a reply. As if he knew who caused her to shrivel into a shaking ball, his masked eyes trailed back to the fleeting pile of smoke. Tom was making his way towards the girl without obstruction and Boy Wonder hoped he wasn't doing to her whatever he did to him before.

The distraction earned his stalker an upper hand and quickly too advantage of it. Robin turned to race to her but a large hand grabbed the end of his cape and propelled him to the ground on his side.

Boy Wonder got hold of his bearings in time to watch his bo staff slip from his fingers and fly into the red-gloved hand. Angered, though he didn't acknowledge it, he pushed himself shakily off the ground. Anxiety worked its way into his voice, "_How_ are you doing this!"

"What?" Feeling a bit of fun, Jack snapped his fingers, "This?"

Robin heard a click and something brush against his thigh before the sound of crushed grass took over the sense of touch. He looked down to see his utility belt, unbuckled, lying like a snake around his feet. His mask widened and almost at a loss for words.

"It's nothing really. Can't you're lady friend with that unhealthy skin complexion do something similar?" The taller man couldn't help but tease the bewildered boy. And what seemed like teasing in his point of view must seem entirely different from his victim's—and he always crafted for that illusion.

"Don't you dare talk about comparing yourself to her or any of my friends! Especially from that depraved, sick tongue of yours!" Robin snapped back letting his frustration get the better of him. Though he had his skills, he was being quickly overpowered by brute strength and now, practically naked without his weapons. Now with his only means of communications with his team lying parked in the edge of the tree patch, it looked like he was on his own.

And he knew it was his own damned fault for putting himself in that predicament.

Reading the body language of a cornered animal, Jack twirled the staff in front of him to taunt the baby bird, "I don't think I'd want to be likened to your friends, little one. Pretty bird like you and they never hold an orgy every night?" His own slip of "depraved" tongue licked the bottom of his own lip, "Although, I must admit, I'm glad they don't. Much more satisfying to tear open something new than something used."

He had his mouth opened, but silence voiced his outrage. Robin tried to interpret that as innocently as possible. The more he heard these two speak the more he wished he was deaf. But there was no time for condemning them for their acts. A little girl needed his help and he couldn't let her down. No smoke grenades or blinding lights were at his disposable to serve as distraction. He was on his own, and he hoped to whoever sits high up in the heavens that everything will turn out all right.

Jack didn't really do anything except tap the staff on his shoulder, letting the bird decide the next move. Judging from the teen angered by the sight of his brother holding the voiceless girl's head up by her hair, the little bird wanted to fly. Those large masked eyes pierced back at his own red ones, daring a challenge to stop him from his pathetic rescue attempt. Nothing gave way to the Titan except a shrug, and not being able to endure any longer, turned to go off and pry those gloves off of blonde hair. It would be fun to watch him and his brother wrestle about with hands going to certain places and minds cracked here and there.

But then he couldn't let Tom have all the fun when he already had his fair share the night before.

With his mental hand, he pointed at the curled, yellow belt. With a flick of his wrist it slithered through the grass with a momentum to make a cheetah green with envy. Like the snake it imitated, the belt sprung from the ground and wrapped around one thin ankle, then another, and Robin came crashing down. Taking this chance, the belt wrapped around both ankles twice and buckled together.

Robin tried to regain balance to run again but discovered he couldn't move his feet apart. He glared down and gasped as his own utility belt immobilized him. Quickly sitting up, he struggled to unfasten and unravel the makeshift coil but despite all his strength, the belt refused to let go.

Suddenly, the oddest feeling suffocated him, pulling him down onto the cold earth. His futile resistance had no direction, only urging his body to stay upright. It felt as if his uniform itself was pushing down on him, tightening around his torso and constricting his ribs. His back and hair became saturated with moisture of grass and he couldn't bring to control his posture. Emphasising the loss of bodily control, Robin felt his gloves constricting every one of his fingers and his palms. Deliberately the hands rose over him and then landed on the ground above his head connected at the wrists, his legs forced down straight.

In essence, he was pinned to the ground like a butterfly specimen on a plaque—exposing him.

Above, the sky was clear with diamond stars shimmering along as it always had for numerous millennia, not caring of what was happening underneath them. On any other night, perhaps observing the higher plane with Starfire or running through the air with wind bathing his body, the night looked fundamentally tranquil. Except now, the darkness above was like staring into an abyss; the stars were glittering a chuckle at the fate befallen on two lone children. The Titan refused to accept their mockery. Even though his position didn't change, he continued to struggle as his costume became tighter, holding him down. Looking up again, his view of the sky was obstructed by three figures: one leaning on his staff like a cane, the other, holding a girl by the back of her dress as if she was a rag doll, and Mary herself was looking down on him with wide eyes.

And fear, the natural one not infected with sudden crazed terror, traced its claws against his skin.

Tom dropped the girl to the side, not caring for her sobs after the impact of flesh to dirt. He crouched down, grinning with glee while smelling the aroma. Enjoying the sight of a squirming body too much, he brushed a finger against a cheek flushed from the cold and breathing much too hard. The teen immediately turned his head away from the touch, preferring the cold dew over leather. But the fear only grew a more.

The younger brother closed his eyes, savouring the taste, "Nothing beats fear brought about the victim himself… and I think," he leaned down closer and brushed the same cheek again, "you rarely show it, don't you little one?" His fingers ran though the coal-black hair, brushing away any strands stuck to the brow by sweat.

"Don't touch me!" Robin snapped, the feeling of being petted like a dog was not to his liking. "Whatever the hell it is you want," he continued while his voice held a trace of trembling, "leave the girl out of it!"

"Ah, noble even under flirtation," Jack said with content, the tip of the staff stroking up and down the side of the boy's thigh. This was all too delicious a situation, and he had to admit, it had been a long time since drinking such succulent emotion. It really is different when the fear is brought about on its own. Of course, the way his younger brother induces them in their toys was very satisfactory as well.

Robin tried to twist his leg, "Stop that! What do you both want!" He really didn't know what to say, or ask and absolutely refused to stoop to asking for mercy—unless if it meant helping Mary. Pride had to take second place of something.

"Want?" Tom repeated, "What we want is right here…" He watched as the little girl crawled up to her fallen knight, and grip onto his tunic as she held his head close. Her way of protecting him from the big, bad men, he supposed. But she failed to realised the mind was left unguarded.

"Stand up for me, Redbreast." Elder brother motioned his hand upwards, and on cue, Robin's hands pulled up first and then his entire body up, leaving behind Mary reaching out for him. Gloved hands stretched high above his head, Robin stood against his will standing eye level with the man's chest. Jack cupped the small chin, forcing the Boy Wonder to look up to him, "You really are a piece of work, you know? Never in my years have I seen a body so perfect," he emphasized with the hand on chin tracing down to the taught chest where his brother enjoyed touching before.

Any restrains on his anger dissipated, "Get your hands off me you psychotic pervert!" He tried to repel the touch, but all his resistance did was encouraging fingers to expand in their exploration. This was getting to be too much, and the thought that this was only the beginning chilled the teen's blood.

Thomas got up, ignoring the girl tugging at the legs of his pants. Standing right beside Robin, he passed an arm through the space between Robin's arm and head, settling his elbow on the boy's shoulder. The hand hanged low enough that he too started to make circles on the red-covered chest, "You should relax, precious. Try to enjoy it."

"Try to be more affectionate and we'll return in kind," Jack purred.

Obeying that suggestion, Robin found his hands leading his arms to fill in the gap between himself and White-gloves. The unwilled act made his stomach turn as his arms wrapped around the man's neck, pulling him closer to the other's face. It could have been a scene between lovers, but all the set ups to the image were perversely wrong. He tried to turn his face as far away as possible, but it only helped the exhale of breath ripple along his neck.

Tom walked up beside his brother, ready to permeate the young mind he had grown to need. He knew he'd greatly enjoy his new pet. The moment he breaks all defences and all harmonies, he knew he'd be on the ultimate high. Only, he'd have to control himself for a while to get as much from the young hero as possible. And he wanted him to last very long, "Don't you have anything to say to my bro? You should thank him for being as kind as to not leaving you hanging naked there… as usual." His lips curled to snigger at his own thoughts.

At this point, Robin didn't have the words flowing through him smoothly. The position he was in, the mocking and the girl crouched down below him, looking up to him pleading, he just couldn't form lasting remarks. But his emotion did the provoking, "You're twisted, forcing yourself on…" he seethed though clenched teeth, "You're not a man; you're just pitiful."

The large hand that was stroking his back stopped, instead becoming violent and seizing the back of the wild black hair. Robin emitted a short cry, his head forced painfully back.

"You, dear boy," despite his man-handling, Jack's voice was calm as the eye of a storm, "must love S&M." Not giving a chance to let that sentence sink in to the teen dangling off him, he pulled back hair forcing the entire body hanging off of him back. To finish it off, he sent a punch piercing into cheek.

Robin dove into the ground, landing after bouncing off it once or twice. He couldn't stop from involuntarily grimacing as something warm trickled down the side of his face. His whole head felt dislocated by the impact and his brain still vibrating in his skull. Struggling up, and noticing that the tightness from before had lifted from his body, he got up to his elbows before he lifted a hand to the warmth on his cheek. It was the cut from jumping through the jagged window that was bleeding more, exactly where the punch landed. The cut opened deeper and further, the cold air now stabbing delicate flesh.

Almost instantly he felt smaller, trembling hands hanging on to him. Mary rushed up to him, asking with concerned eyes if he was alright. Tears made the eyes more beautiful than the unforgiving stars floating above, but those orbs glittered under the wrong circumstances. Ignoring his own pain throbbing in his head, he turned to her, "A, are you all, right…? Hurt?" The words slurred out, but he refused to black out now.

Jack and Tom casually walked over, with the shorter man shaking his head at his sibling, "Can't you be a teensy bit more delicate? You could have snapped his neck with that sucker punch."

"I _was_ being 'delicate.' He's the one who wanted it rough," Jack shrugged, once again twirling the staff. He was almost disappointed that there was no fighting back; things would certainly be more interesting if there was a backlash—it offered more reason to retaliate in kind. But as his dear brother implied, a dead robin couldn't hate, fear, or tremble beneath his hand.

"Let's try a more, subtly direct approach," mused Tom, and let himself sink into the bird's world. He nudged for Jack to do his thing, and lead himself over to the fallen teen, and extended a hand.

Robin felt his gloves and belt constricting again, forcing his limbs to the ground as the approaching man extended a hand over to him. All he could do was shout in protest…

_Robin leaned against the wall opposite from the single window visible in the hallway, panting while clutching his rib. The punch he forced on Tom was counted by inhuman speed and a swift jab on the side of his torso already bruised from a previous blow. He reacted with more offence but each time the man caught or countered each blow. Now, Red-gloves just stood there next to the window, seemingly quite pleased he was able to open it. Whatever it was he wanted, Robin just wished it was over with and left him alone, "This is my Home… you're not supposed to be here…"_

"_Ah but little one," a voice so gentle cradled the air, "nothing is off limits to someone who has the master key." Strutting over to the slouched teen, Tom extended a hand to smaller chin like his brother had before. Repulsed by the touch, Robin tried to push it away but the other red-gloved hand gripped his wrist and slammed it against the wall. Amused crimson eyes glowed happily while shaking his head, "You still don't get it do you? Out there and in here, two different places. You're acrobatics mean nothing Here." He emphasized the point by tightening his hold on the wrist eliciting a deep throated whimper, the kind one makes when futilely uphold their pride._

"_This is MY Home! You have no jurisdiction here! No one should— _You_ shouldn't be here!" Robin swung his free arm to punch, claw, slap, whatever it took to get the man away from him but again, that limb was restrained. His reflexes retarded and his eyelids gained weight. The sweet, aromatic night air flowing in from the window was tantalizing. It was a perfume of comfort, and the sight of the moon and stars grouped together outside gave the image of a warm mound of pillows urging to be lied on._

"_C'mon, you swing like a girl," the man mocked. "You're not the type who's hard on the outside and soft on the inside, are ya?" As much as he was enjoying this, Tom felt a pang of disappointment. The left over bruises, the drooping shoulders as if the weight of the world was his shoulders, Thomas wondered just what made the boy tired than he truly was. Perhaps the burden of being a hero had caught up on such a young life, maybe there was something more. He didn't expect such a fiery blaze would be so easily subdued into a candle flame in Here._

_Maybe he was burning smaller than usual, maybe for too long. But a candle light was still fire, and fire burns no matter the size, never extinguished. Despite the setbacks and hardships of recent times, Robin refused to ultimately give in. By friends and team mates, by those he wished to forget, he was taught he wasn't Alone. It was a half truth where there was a difference in being Alone by choice or nature. Being surrounded by others, to know one was being watched over by others, was both a blessing and damning. He wasn't Alone as long as he had them, and in here, he wasn't Alone as long as They lurked in the darkness of his mind._

_Always lurking…_

_The scent of night was becoming too tantalizing to resist, weakening his resolve to fight. It would be nice if he had the rest that he missed during his research. At least in sleep, the burden he was on now was forgotten for a little while, and perhaps this was all a dream within a dream. Or perhaps he wanted escape if only for a small precious time._

_When physical resistance started to wane, Robin stopped his struggles but straightened his back. He lowered his head and voice, but not the fury instilled in his words before Sleep would claim him, "Get out."_

_Thomas narrowed his eyes, the smile starting to fade with his fingers feeling the boy's body turn stiff. Something in the air was stirring. Off in the distance, he could have sworn he heard tiny, inhuman cries in the dark hallway. Erring on the side of caution, he upped his defences, preparing his strength. So quiet and still the Titan stood, the younger sibling would have thought he had already passed out into the realm of Dreams even he can't enter._

_Again, Robin repeated but more slurred as he slowly gave in to the addictive aroma, "Get out…"_

_As if those two words were an incantation, a horrible screech slashed through the air. So loud it was it forced Red-gloves to let go of the teenager and cover his ears in an attempt to block out the shriek. But for the Boy Wonder, he simply closed his eyes behind the mask, slid down against the wall until he hit the floor. The screech did not bother him at all as his weight shifted to the side, knocking his whole frame to the floor in accepted slumber._

_Tom however was not blessed with such immunity. Gritting his teeth, he turned towards the sound of the banshee cry and regretted that move._

"_Sunova—!" A bat, at least the size of his head, crashed into his face, clawing and shrieking the same horrible cry continuously. If this was the Outside, his ears would have popped blood from such decimals of sound. "Mangy little—" Tom grabbed a fistful of fur, "GET OFF!" He pulled the large bat away from his clawed face and threw it on the ground._

_The bat chirped and screeched with each bounce off the cold floor, flapping its wide leather wings to balance it self, until it finally stopped against Robin's arm. A snout long and pointed, with tufts of skin decorated the snout. The body discounting the wings was long and lithe for its size, a warm reddish brown with an unusually silver ring around its neck. Eyes large and brown speaking of excellent sight, but the strength of that screech and the enormous size of its ears gave a hint that it didn't rely on sight alone. It wasn't anything Tom had seen in books or zoos. Though he was no expert, it almost seemed… like a hybrid. _

_He watched it stare back with its prying eyes and fangs bared as it pulled itself over the arm and into the niche between the appendage and ribs. Able to take a better look at it with a comparison, it was too large and small at the same time—large enough to maul a face, yet small enough to be crushed by hand. Wings parted open, revealing its true intimidation with their sheer length. Spread out wide, they flexed over Robin's torso to almost cover him from head to toe, as if using itself as a barrier between the teen and the intruder._

_Thomas wiped the blood from his face and the cuts he touched suddenly healed on its own. "So little Redbreast," he half sneered, half smiled at the flying fox bare its set of teeth, "you do have a bag of tricks after all." He took a step back, straightening his tie and evening out his sleeves, "At least you won't disappoint me of a challenge like you've been leading on." And he was truly grateful for that. It was the process, the hunt of finding that limit and shattering it that was when emotions were at its most ripe._

_For now, he would let this still-young bird rest as that was all he supposedly came to provoke. There was also the matter of returning the girl back to their home Nest. Time to make an exit for now; plenty of time to explore this mind later._

_Taking one last look at the boy he would thoroughly like to enjoy, he enacted a mock salute, "Wait for me sleeping beauty." The Bat flapped its wings once while continuing guarding the fallen Titan. "And next time we play, let's keep your pet out of our quality time."_

_That earned him a shriek, but only chuckled at it of despite the sonic sound leaving his ears dully ringing, "Right, right back at you, ya filthy Bat. A little possessive for a disease-ridden winged rodent," he muttered to himself. It was a thought that made a very interesting image in his imagination. Though honestly, he doubted the boy got off on such fetish. But he did find it peculiar to find a chiroptera instead of the boy's namesake. Perhaps that little tidbit of the boy's connection to Gotham was not far off after all. "I guess the difference between feather and fur holds no bounds for you Redbreast, unlike that saying:_

"_Birds of a feather flock together,  
And so will pigs and swine;"_

Tom licked the blood from the cut on Robin's cheek, tasting the pink skin as saliva met with open flesh. Resting in deep sleep, the act elicited no reaction from the slumbering form.

"Rats and mice will have their choice,  
And so will I have mine."

He straightened feeling a tap on his shoulder. Turning around he saw his brother looming over with a curious smirk, but the posture of a business man. "Not right now, Thomas." It was getting late and the girl was expected to be back within the night. "You can have a taste later."

"Yeah yeah," the younger responded with a wave of a hand, "got all the time in the world."

The two watched as Mary returned to Robin's side, pulling on the sleeve of his arm to arouse him from unconsciousness. But there was no response, no movement besides the rise and fall of his chest in the rhythm of sleep. If there was sound in her voice or if her tears hadn't dried up from previous cries she would have bawled her self to sleep herself. But the lack of either expression made her a sitting statue, looking and continuing her nagging for him to wake.

Lifting the edge of his white glove, Jack peered at his watch, "It's time to go."

With those words, Mary lowered her head to the young Titan's warm chest over the sound of his beating heart. She tried to shut her eyes to the future as two pairs of hands reached out for her and Robin.

oooooo

Four AM and she still could not sleep.

Raven sat on her bed, legs crossed, willing herself to calm for a thorough meditation. But tides of restlessness, fear, anxiety and confusion crashed onto her without rest from the ocean that was the city. For the sake of her sanity, she wished Beast Boy's comment of her recent crankier than usual behaviour was due to the simple idea of "that time of the month" was true. Except, one, it wasn't "that time of the month" and two, she would have a black soul-claw slapped the Changeling through the walls for that comment if she actually experienced such hormonal storms.

A gift, but always a curse.

The description she gave herself concerning her powers: handy when stopping villains, and maybe when anticipating a lie or two, but ultimately a slave to her powers. Often she wondered if it was her controlling her powers, or the powers controlling her with all the preparation and concentration forced on her to not rip everything in sight, but came to the conclusion it had a profound constraint on her life. There was no simple way to flip a switch to shut down her powers as easily as the others could. But for now, she was confident in the fact she had managed to remain in control most of her life aside from the slip ups now and then. Malchior reminded her she needed to guard her natural abilities more efficiently.

Raven sighed. The regrets of the past and the rage of others in the present wasn't what she hoped to think of to lull her to sleep. Leaving her cloak lying beside her on the bed, she slid off the covers and exited her room. Herbal tea always did help soothe the soul.

Silent as a shadow, she made her way to the living room kitchen, but in the process, there was a certain door that had to be passed.

The "conversation" earlier that night tiptoed to the front of her memories when she halted her step as the door to the research room came into her line of vision. An odd idea of apology floated in her brain, but soon deflated. Harsh as her words were, it was truth and if the others were too "timid" to tell him to his face, then that role was unofficially placed on her. Though the mistress didn't want to actively feel another's presence right now, absently her mind did try to tread pass the metal door. Unlike the trickle of frustration and nostalgia she felt before she told Robin off, it was strangely absent. Not those specified or other feelings permeated the door when the Boy Wonder was in one of his moods.

But it wasn't something Raven thought was unexpected. Over the course of being a Titan, she learned that the young leader had a very good skill of hiding himself away from everyone, even to her empathic mind. Quite good in fact that, looking back, ninety percent of the time it was when he allowed her to enter his mind that she was able to "feel" him. Except, on the rare occasion he actively allowed it, he seemed absolutely reluctant to "let" her in during the hallucinations.

Perhaps he had finally fallen asleep, or once again, gave himself into his work that always built that wall. Whichever it was, it was probably best that he was left alone for the rest of the early morning. It may be a bad idea that she would bother him after what she told him.

Moreover, that tea was too tempting to delay any longer.

oooooo

_Taking his time after deciding to take a quick tour, Tom was shuffling his way to the other end of the hallway. The surrounding had darkened to the minimal amount needed to see, basically everything illuminated by moonlight without a moon. He walked towards the single, intense light bulb hanging over head in the middle of the hallway again, acting much like a stationary spotlight._

_The one end he had explored first was interesting to say the least. _

_Only a single door was present, separated from the others lining the hallway. Isolated and kept in the dark, almost pitch black. However, he could clearly make out a symbol on the door instead of a mask. A stylized motif of a bat hanged on the wooden door with chains scattered about the floor in front of it. Scratches decorated the surface obviously made by an animal… or animals. There was an undeniable whisper of chirps coming from behind the wooden gate. At least Tom knew now where that giant Bat from before was came from. He didn't dare open it yet, not wanting to risk releasing reinforcements behind the closed door._

_Reaching the halfway point of the light fixture, he one again passed another singled out door but not as isolated. It stood in front of the light, and where a few doors should have been beside it were left blank. The strange characteristic of this one, as Tom thought, was the fact that no mask hanged on the nail tacked onto the wood except a crude carving. In fact, it looked fairly new except being marred where a mask should with an "X" etched into it._

_Ignoring that one for now, Thomas finally arrived to the opposite end of the hallway. Again it was dark, much darker than the bat end. Another singled out door rested in the middle of the darkness. This too was unique as the same type of chains on the Bat's floor, large and small, bound the door shut. To add to its foreboding visual, the door was made of metal than wood. And the mask hanging from the door was shaped much different from the theatrical masks on the other doors. Instead of white porcelain, it shined—glowed, just enough on its own despite the lack of lighting to show that it too was made of metal. Half obsidian black, half bronze-orange, only a single hole for the eye with a black outline ending in a wisp on one corner adorned it. The slits cut into the bottom of the mask where obviously one would breathe through._

_And something was pulsating behind that iron entrance, something very much alive, powerful but unreadable._

_Curiosity getting the better of him, Tom raised a red-gloved hand, cautiously stepping forward to the door. Maybe he could sense what was behind the door with a touch, but a prick in his ear stopped him._

_The sound of his brother's voice called for him, explaining there was another job to do. Tom cursed under his breath, but a job was a job and dared not being caught by the big boss again for slacking off. Taking one last look at the fortified door, he turned and walked, disappearing before he reached outside of the door's dark vicinity._

_It was too bad he had left so soon. A second later, he would have heard the sound of a chain landing on the floor with a musical clank._

_

* * *

_I hope it wasn't too long winded. I've laid down enough clues I think (well, baltantly stating it at one point) on the identity of the little girl. All names of the OC characters (or those characters in the show who weren't assigned names as in the case with the girl) are named in their way for a reason. Half a reason for "Mary" was to play on the Maid Marion idea.

Pointless fact: Chiroptera is the name of the Order that bats are under. The Indian flying fox (fruit bat) is one of the largest bat species (sounds like it anyways), with a wingspan as usually long as 4 feet wide. Anyways, there are bats with wingspans that are big enough to reach or exceed a meter (or around 5 feet). Though the imaginary one in this fic is a hybrid of different species that I haven't explained well, I used the flying fox as a template :)

Art of Silence


	6. Rinse and Repeat

Argh, sorry for the long wait. Finals...accursed finals! At least they're over though now new stress is taking over. This chapter, regretfully, has been rushed. At least I feel like I have rushed it. Mistakes may be more abundant than usual in this one. Half of my mind was not in tune with writing as there are other things pulling my attention. Again regrefully, a slow chapter.

Not beta read.

* * *

6: Rinse and Repeat  


His internal clock alerted him to a new morning and reluctantly opened his eye from a restful sleep. Cyborg got up from his recharging bed with a loud and sloppy yawn, scratching and stretching like he always did every opening day. He hopped off his regeneration bed while running a quick diagnostic on himself as usual, and headed off to the bathroom to do his more human hygiene practice—as per usual.

In the background, the timed radio came on in the middle of a light jazz melody. The station the half-robot had it on always had good variety that suited his taste, and this tune was no exception. Brushing of teeth and washing of face fell into beat with the music, and soon he found himself humming along once he got the pattern of the melody.

Drying off, he slid the towel around his neck and headed straight for his computer console that connected with the Tower's security system among other things. With so many breaches in security in the past, he and Robin decided to check up on the system every morning and one would confirm the other's diagnostics. On automatic pilot mode since the moment he woke, Cyborg absently punched up the data for the night's security grid. Scanning with a lazy eye, everything looked fine—

Until he saw a small blip around midnight last night.

Immediately his whole brain kicked into active and called up the status behind that five minute security power down, but every field to describe the nature of the phenomenon was written "manual override." All he could tell was that a specific area, the transport dock, had lost security for brief minutes. Though he knew of who within the group had the knowledge and technical prowess to deactivate a particular region, he wanted to take route of the benefit of the doubt. A break-in to the tower was a very possible threat after all.

The system was reformatted to not allow any information to be negated, that is there was never any information unavailable at a certain time. If all was as it should be, the security system would log it as optimum output. But going back afterwards and sifting through the logs to rewrite it so that a breach could be covered was unfortunately, easy to do. Although that itself was a weakness, he anticipated enough to keep the lock holding the logs to be impenetrable by most outsiders.

Scrutinizing the leak, Cyborg decided to confirm what he was seeing and switched on communications. The Titan leader was usually the earliest riser and much too alert in the morning than a teen should be, "Hey Robin, have you checked over security? Found a blip that may be worth a look."

He paused, waiting for acknowledgement but not even the hum of a low transmission static was heard.

"Rise and shine, Robin." Cyborg added, but still no answer. Then the thought that the stubborn teen was still in the research room danced in his head. Changing the frequency of transmission, he tried again, "Robin, you there?"

Still he received no response.

Considering how everyone was tired from researching the night before, along with the occasional running out to stop criminals, the idea that Robin was sleeping in wasn't out of the question. He was human and allowed to do that sometimes, after all. Though, looking back to his bed, the half-robot now wished he was sleeping in too.

Then his guts poked at his stomach that something… was amiss. The same feeling he had with his last verbal feud with Robin the other day.

With the sleepy half of his brain reluctant to leave such comfy furniture, Cyborg threw the towel on the bed and left his room.

Taking his time, Cyborg manoeuvred around the hallways occasionally stifling a yawn. He passed Beast Boy's room, which he swore he could hear snoring behind five inches of steel and through the blaring radio alarm the green teen slept through. It didn't seem impossible that the young teen could tear down the walls with a sonic snore. Perhaps that was why the girls had their rooms a floor above the boys which was generally less rowdy with rough play.

Arriving to the opposite end of the hallway, Cyborg stepped up to Robin's door and knocked twice. Even his cybernetic sensitive hearing failed to detect a sound from the other side, so he tried again, "C'mon Robin, you in there or not?" Silence meeting him again, he called out a warning, "I'm gonna open the door so you better hope you're not in some embarrassing attire." After waiting a moment more, he kept his word and punched the side button to slide the door.

He stuck his head though the doorway, but the room on the other side of the door was empty of life. The bed was left made, the door to the closet was slid half opened exposing weapons, masks and suits. Everything else was perfectly clean—clean as a fourteen year old could let it be. Perfectly normal. Nothing wrong here.

Cyborg closed the door and walked to his second option.

A short elevator ride down and Cyborg arrived to the main level leading to the living room. On his way he checked for the usual spots Robin might be in the mornings, including the training room. Still no sight of the person he wanted to talk to. If this was a sign that the Boy Wonder wanted to be alone, the half-robot had no problem with it as he came to expect it now and then. But he secretly admitted to himself that, the previous entanglement Robin seemed to have gotten himself into nestled in the back of his mind.

While his mind wandered, before he knew it, Cyborg found himself at the research room. He went through the routine again, "Robin?" No answer and he manually opened the door. He expected a sleeping form slumped over a mountain of files on the table, but just like his private room his fellow Titan was not found. _At least he managed to tear away from work_, Cyborg mentally sighed. The middle table was left in disarray but nothing out of the ordinary.

If photos of sexually assaulted victims and file after file of the worst humanity has to offer could be called ordinary. Randomly skimming over the blanket of papers, he glanced at a staple-bound stack of three or four papers. Taking the file into his large hands, the half-robot recognized the picture depicting "The Duke" of Bludhaven from his previous night of research. His eyes slid over the words of the usual description of said person, address, history—all the works. There was nothing out of ordinary compared to the file he had seen earlier. His hand seemed reluctant let go of the paper but eventually he plopped the item down.

Then the vast emptiness of the room covered with news clippings seemed to rumble with the sound of his stomach. Listening to the roar, Cyborg decided a breakfast was in order and headed for the main room.

Once he entered the living room, the half-robot found that he wasn't the only one thinking of a meal, "Hey girls."

Raven sat at the couch, turning her head long enough to acknowledge the taller Titan's presence. She had wrapped herself in her cloak again once she realized she would need more tea to help sleep when she returned to her room after the first cup. Without a word she returned to her fifth cup of tea since earlier, watching the morning news on low volume. The top stories of the previous day did not seem to change much as the rest of the previous weeks.

Starfire stopped whatever she was stirring in a pot over the stove and briskly waved a hand of salutation, "Good morning, Cyborg. Are you in need of early nourishment?"

"Hey Star," he said, waving equally enthusiastically as his sleepy brain will allow. Somewhat reluctantly walking over to the kitchen, a dreaded smell of the alien's new recipe of questionable delicacy permeated his nasal cavity. Seeing the state of the supposed food, Cyborg tried hard not to gag in front of her, "Um… what is it?"

She lifted a ladleful of something very green and very lumpy and from the boiling pot decorated only with her smile, "It is a highly nutritious substance called morkinof-gl. Enough calories is present in one bowl that it allows one to pass lunch and dinner nutrients if the need arises." Holding her smile, Starfire held the ladle towards the team's juggernaut, "Would you like to try?"

He watched a drop of the green substance roll under the ladle and drip down to the counter, and saw it bubble once before it settled on expanding its width on the flat surface. Cyborg decided that was something he did not need in his stomach, "…No thanks, Starfire. I, uh, was thinking of trying out Raven's routine of tea in the morning…"

Upon hearing her name, Raven had to roll her eyes. The man just couldn't lie well sometimes.

Just like any other time she cooked, Star shrugged her shoulders and returned to her stirring. Once or twice she took a taste test, and giggled in satisfaction each time it turned out sweet as it should be. Raven and Cyborg had curiously refused to taste the wondrous food; she hoped that they would try it at least once after she convinces Robin and even perhaps Beast Boy to try it. There was no meat in it after all.

Seeing her continue smiling at her content to make sure he didn't hurt her feelings, Cyborg thought of accomplishing two tasks at once while raiding the fridge, "Did you happen to see Robin this morning, Star?"

The ladle stopped its round around the pot as Starfire shook her head almost sadly, "Not since yesterday afternoon. I had presumed that he is still working on the case at hand." Leaving the utensil in the pot, the princess turned to her team mate, "Is there a matter of concern?"

Cyborg took a moment to contemplate that question, "It's probably nothing… but there was a five minute shut down around midnight."

Tearing her eyes away from the news, Raven raised an eyebrow towards their tech expert, "Security breach?"

"That's the thing," Cyborg took out a bottle of orange juice after deciding to go for something cold than, "it was manually shut down from the inside with the correct codes. Stranger still, I would have noticed if there was an interruption in the system but I didn't." He took a sip from the bottle, not needing to finish what the situation entailed.

Leaving her cup half full, Raven walked up to the kitchen and placed the mug on the counter. "Are you implying something?" she bluntly asked.

The oldest Titan shrugged, already finished with his juice, "I'm trying not to. Just want to make sure with Robin's diagnostics that there aren't possible problems with the system."

Starfire set the stove to low while listening to the potential problem. What with the way Raven was toning her question, the alien half believed both were implying someone within the team committed the action. "Perhaps I should interrupt Robin from his investigation in the research room right now."

Cyborg informed her before she made it outside the kitchen area, "I checked and he wasn't there. Not in his room either." Starfire turned around to face him, as did Raven who seemed extra curious.

"Perhaps he has decided to pursuit a break in the training room." Starfire added. By a shake of his head, she couldn't help but ask more questions, "I do not understand. Are you saying he is not in the Tower?"

The half-robot started to feel uncomfortable under the emerald stare. "That's why I asked you. I was hoping you'd know…" It was becoming apparent that she was much concerned by Robin's behaviour the past day as well. "You were the last to see him, right?"

"I believe I was," Star continued, "but that was yesterday afternoon. Though it was only for a few moments that we had talked…" She didn't bother to hide the worry in her voice.

"Actually…"

The two conversing teens turned their attention to Raven.

Softly, the navy cloak settled over the sorceress' body, "I spoke with him last night."

A short stretch of verbal silence crawled around the room with only the sound of the TV playing in the background. They waited for her to elaborate but dark blue eyes only stared back at her team mates. "And…?" Cyborg prompted the girl.

Raven crossed her arms beneath the cloth, "And we talked." She didn't mean to sound curt, but words had a knack of coming out of her mouth that way, and the others learned to know when to take a hint. Already a sense of doubt, not about the content of her appraisal of Robin's situation, but rather the timing of "the chat" might not have been the best. It also led to the notion her judgement was being more impaired than she thought. Or at least distracted from perceiving her surroundings. Either way it was beginning to grate on her, berating herself at even the thought of losing the slightest control on her emotions. Using the analytical approach, putting one and one together, signs were pointing to a smart boy—a highly motivated one with a history to seek his own method—looked very much the suspect of the security problem.

One too many times, Cyborg found himself pessimistically thinking ahead of the situation, "Was this before midnight?" When he received a nod from Raven, immediately he turned on his tracking program and stared at the readings on his arm. From the corner of his eye, an anxious Starfire stood on her toes trying to look over at the results herself on his forearm. As much as he would have like to ease her mind, the girl beside him was strong enough to take it. But as he extended his sensors, his furling eyebrows caused more alarm in the princess. "…He's not here."

Raven shifted her weight to one foot, "Not in the Tower?"

"But that is not an extraordinary circumstance," Starfire immediately turned to defence mode. "There have been numerous times that he has elected to seek out the company of himself. We all have experienced something similar when each of us is in…our 'moods,' have we not?"

Cyborg frowned as he looked up from his tracking window to his reasoning team mate, "Yeah, but we usually stay within the city limits to have our quiet time." He lowered his arm to allow the girls to see and to reduce their puzzled looks. Besides the four yellow dots symbolizing the four Titans in their home, their leader's signal was no where on the city map. "I have enough range from my proximity to scan the city, but the tracker's frequency weakens too much to detect if any of you go outside it." Requiring more power output, he headed for the main console in front of the TV/viewer to access the super computer's tracker.

"If… if it was Robin who had manipulated the security and indeed left during the night… where would he go so abruptly?" Starfire followed behind the taller teen like a younger sister seeking comfort from her big brother. It wasn't that she didn't trust Robin doing things on his own; it was something she expected from him and forced herself to accept. But past experiences had her develop a sense about these events, and something inside her was screaming to do something fast. In her mind, she willed herself to calm down reasoning that her agitation was fuelled by worry and fear of not being unable to understand why the abduction of children happened at all in this society. Her people would have torn everything in their path to find their missing young, and no one wanted to be in the path of an angered parental Tamaranian.

Watching Cyborg push the right combination of buttons to bring up the tracking screen, she concentrated on the task at hand rather than drowning in her thoughts. Almost instantaneously, the golden dot representing Robin that was absent on his censors appeared on the main screen. Starfire's eyes widened, knowing full well the connotation of the glowing location, "Is that location not…"

"Bludhaven." Raven narrowed her eyes. She suspected, but she didn't think he would go that far. He was much smarter than that, or rather, _should_ be smarter. Apparently, whatever she detected in him for the past day was impairment, something very much like his previous adventures in obsessing over a target.

Cyborg stayed quiet, connecting what he read in the research room with were Robin supposedly was at. He wagered himself that if he checked the young leader's closet, there would be weapons missing. Although he had a clear idea, he checked for the R-cycle's location and like a dart on target, it flashed red right beside the yellow dot. "Looks like he took his bike." A few more taps on the console and the area containing the dot magnified to be able to differentiate streets and major buildings. He already knew where Robin was, it was to just present evidence to his friends, "Why am I not surprised…"

Raven shook her head while Starfire continued to stare at the screen. The sorceress crossed her arms again in an attempt to hold her agitation, with only a mutter betraying her cool exterior, "That idiot."

The Tameranian, however, did not appreciate the tone both her team mates made. She understood the frustration behind it, but it was no reason to exasperate on a friend when they have yet to hear his side of the story. To appease her mind, she asked for opening communications with Robin.

Unbeknownst to the three scrutinizing at the problem at hand, Beast Boy groggily entered the living room, still scratching all over from his pleasant sleep. A trail of yawns erupted as he headed his way to his friends who still didn't notice he was in the same room. Fortunately for his friends, he was too much of an anti-morning person to take advantage of the opportunity for a group scare. Scratching the back of his head and yawning, the changeling piped up, "Hey dudes, wha'cha all staring at?"

Star and Cyborg almost jumped in surprise and spun to see their youngest team mate before they could establish a connection, though Raven hadn't bother to turn around at all. Beast Boy didn't mind as she did that from time to time when she was in less than stellar moods.

"Fearless leader decided to go on a field trip alone," Raven answered, showing that she was not ignoring his presence.

"Eh?" was the response from the green teenager, the sleep from his eyes finally starting to wane. "It's not like he's never done that before."

Cyborg took the more explicit approach, "Robin took off on his own to Bludhaven to pay the Duke a personal visit."

It took a moment but Beast Boy took in the implications of what he heard. "When?"

"Apparently sometime around midnight," Starfire answered. She still stared at the screen while her mind tried to calm herself. Since finding Robin hurt and with Red X of all people helping him to just stand, the quiver of fear hadn't left her since. The holes in his story were making her trip and fall into them.

Beast Boy looked from a worried Star to the view screen the others were staring at. The dot with the "R" in the middle made it obvious who it was representing, blinking merrily on its own. While the other Titans worked on communications with each trying to get an answer from Robin's end, he fixated on the flashing dot. He stifled another yawn, his body finally feeling ready to start the new day, though it looked to be a day of playing fetch for a particular person.

With minutes passing, and obviously getting no answer from the Boy Wonder, Beast Boy stayed out of the three's business as he thought they probably preferred at this time. So he looked at the monitor again and the blinking dot still greeted him. It was nothing spectacular yet something peculiar about its behaviour making his ear twitch. Starfire did say midnight didn't she? The Changling scratched his head again, this time from puzzlement, "So… he's been there the whole time?"

As if taken completely off guard by one of their gallery of enemies, the trio froze their staring and exchanged surprised glances at each other. So preoccupied with complaining about a "problem child," the youngest Titan caught something the three were ridiculously oblivious to. During their entire time observing the tracking grid, it hadn't moved at all. Add in the fact that it seemed suspicious that Robin would stay at a mob's home knowing it's likeliness of being fortified with security personnel all this time.

When eyes set upon him again, Beast Boy gave them his "are you going to answer me?" look.

Heeding the green teenager's observation, Raven magnified the area even more to come across another mystery. The tracker visually explained that their missing Titan was just outside the Duke's home perimeter, but the R-cycle located some metres away.

Even with several failed attempts, Cyborg re-opened up the channel for Robin's communicator and the R-cycle, "Robin, where ever the hell you are, you better answer or I'll seriously kick your ass to Gotham and back." Still nothing answered, not even the crackle of static.

Starfire shook her head. This was playing out too much like her previous retries to establish a connection with Robin during the apprentice nonsense. "There must be something wrong. He would have answered us by now and as Beast Boy has pointed out, Robin has stayed in the same location for much too long." She looked to her team mates with pleading eyes, though she knew there was no need of it, "He must be in trouble."

Cyborg looked up from the console to emerald eyes then to the screen again. Their destination had been set, "Everyone to the T-car. We're going to Blud—"

Before he could proclaim the next move, the alarm went off signalling a crime in progress. The monitor displayed the problem, and the perpetrator committing the unlawful act.

Raven rolled her eyes once more, irritated both by the noise and their opponent, "Impeccable timing."

"Cinderblock, _again_!" Beast Boy shouted from behind. "How many times do we need to lay the smack down on his butt before he gets a clue?" His outburst met no admonishment from his team mates since the group felt the same way about the concrete giant.

But now was not a time for complaint but for action. A team mate may potentially be in trouble as they speak and Cyborg wanted to act as soon as possible. Of course he had complete trust in Robin's ability to take care of himself, but with all the random things happening at one time, he wanted to be cautious. Never mind the psychological toll of the abduction and rapes of children running rampant like wildfire in the city to everyone; the sight of the Boy Wonder beaten and apparently saved by a known criminal and foolishly trying to hide the details was painting a disturbing picture. Like the previous times his intuition told him to calm his obsessive friend, something was not right.

Time could be of the essence for one job, but strength and versatility was needed to combat the other problem. From the initial reports, Cinderblock seemed only interested in random destruction than a planned course of action which he assumed that he was lacking motivation. And that usually meant a disadvantage on part of the criminal.

Starfire felt a conflict build up in her: as friend and team mate she wanted to help Robin in case he was possibly in danger, but there was also the matter of upholding the law of the city as she swore she would when she joined the Titans. At times like this she wished friendship and duty were simple matters to understand.

"We have a problem right now that's right in front of our noses," Raven analyzed the situation as she lifted her hood over her head, citing the general rule within the Titans group. "We should tackle the nearest problem first."

Reluctantly, the alien princess nodded, "I… concur. Robin would come to the same conclusion if he was in this situation with us..." The hint of disappointment in her voice turned into assertion, "We must resolve the matter with Cinderblock as quick and efficient as possible so that we may begin our search for Robin following immediately."

"Then it's settled!" The youngest Titan was ready to leap and bound to the exit, "Let's go already!"

The three started their way to the exit, but Cyborg stood in place contemplating an alternative. His instincts would not back down to the others' logical resolution. "Starfire, Beast Boy, think you can handle Cinderblock while Raven and I head for Bludhaven?"

The question stopped the rest of the Titans in their tracks. Beast Boy raised an eyebrow, "You're splitting us up?"

"Whether we all go fight Cinderblock or not," Cyborg tried to explain his thought, or at least think it out loud to make sense of it himself, "half of us should stay and protect the city. Things have been a little… delicate recently." The word he settled on didn't do the situation justice. Though the crime levels itself was steady as it ever was, the unrelenting perturbation caused by the missing children forced the city to need its security blanket more than ever. He knew there was little they could do and downright useless in preventing what was going so very wrong in Jump City, but a symbol of safety was sometimes the best defence for the nurturing of hope in the mind.

However, the simple truth was, he was worried.

Though the blaring alarm, Starfire questioned the roaster for such a fragile move, "If you are executing the task to seek out Robin, then I wish to come as well!"

The acting leader shook his head as he expected the protest, "I'll need you and BB to stay and deal with Cinderblock, Star." He turned to the mentioned green teen, waiting until the confirmation of a nod of understanding, that he was making the right choice. "I know you guys are perfect for the job; I know you can handle it."

Raven peeked though her hood with the corner of her eye to the Titan she was apparently partnered with. He failed to mention why she was chosen to come along with him. Although she had no problems working with him one on one, this time it felt like there was a motive behind it. While she pondered that thought, Cyborg met her gaze and both locked onto each other for a moment.

In that brief lock, she read something in those eyes and began to understand his decision. "Starfire, you and Beast Boy were able to take him down fairly well together in our previous encounter with Cinderblock." The sorceress could see a hint of the changeling puffing his chest from the accomplishment. "If Robin was in the same situation right now, I'm sure he would be confident in both you and Beast Boy to stop him."

Listening to the words of both encouragement and logic, the reluctance to be absent in the search was still pervading inside Starfire. But she also had a duty that her friends who were placing faith in her and Beast Boy to protect the city, while the other two protect their comrade. "I…understand," she said almost defeated but grasping the request.

Taking in the alien's body language, Beast Boy tried to be tactfully playful, "C'mon Star, you can release all that frustration on ol' Cindy while I hold him down!" He offered with a wiggle of his brow and a sly grin intended to cheer her up, but she politely responded with half a smile.

Turning her focus on the job at hand, Starfire levitated and flew through the sliding doorway. Beast Boy took one last glance at Cyborg and Raven. Perhaps he didn't understand entirely why the split was happening, but he could understand the feeling behind it. "Don't worry about us. I'll have eeeeverything under control." With a quick wave, he disappeared behind the sliding doors.

"I'm sure the city will have a victory parade for your efforts," Raven added in a dreary monotone. From a person who hardly spoke besides what was needed to be said, it was next to a straight out compliment. From the numerous times the Changeling and the Mistress interacted with one another, Beast Boy learned when she was likely being sarcastic, and when she was hiding her compliments or worries behind a toneless line.

This was one of those moments. Keeping up the façade, he stuck his tongue out in playful retaliation and sprinted out after Starfire.

So Raven and Cyborg were left in the room. With a few key combinations, the half-robot transferred some of the data of the tracker to the T-car while Raven patiently waited by the same exit to head out. Eyes meeting again, Cyborg nodded and headed towards her, "Let's go."

oooooo

With each piece stripped, more of the smooth—what he considered— delicate flesh drowned his eyes. Birthmarks just round and just the right shade littered here and there, but failed to detach from the beauty he was drawn to.

He was used to those "imperfections" long ago, labelling them as Nature's extra detail of making bodies unique. That went for wrinkles from keeping a face one way for too long that youth nowadays are guilty of. Then there were blemishes and some with scars from playing too rough with friends or from accidents and brawls which would be appropriate for the boy's line of work. Though he admitted that he was very happy that there were no presence of freckles or the like on the face he was caressing, he would never said no just because of them. He also learned that there was no such thing as the "perfect body" in the world. If he had continued with that expensive taste, he would never be satisfied and blinded by what other treasures lurked running around the streets.

But, as he now pulled up the red tunic off of the smaller figure, he had an urge to reconsider the concept of perfection as being non-existent. What lay before him on the silk sheets, crisp white as snow, was the most humanly perfect he had ever seen. Whatever scars or blemishes from battle or birth, they ensnared the beauty in this version of perfection.

Perhaps it as the lighting playing tricks on him, for the skin seemed to turn porcelain white when exposed from the tight fitting garment; he remembered it being on the darker shade from sun exposure.

Gloves hid callous hands aged beyond its actual years, obviously due to untold lengths of training and fighting. But he could still see the remnants of tender youth highlighting their delicateness forward. One hand was covered in gauze with a red dulled to pink bloc on the palm. The boy should really know better when not to aggravate an injury. He hoped that it didn't leave too much of a mark. His brother could overreact sometimes but at least tried to prevent damaging the product too much.

The rhythmic rise and fall of the chest signalled sleep still reigned on the boy's consciousness. That made cleaning him up a much simpler and problem-free task.

oooooo

Closing in on their target, the two Titans spotted half a bus thrown into the air and crashing into the unfortunate store that stood in its way. Starfire powered her fists, eyes burning green as she sped towards the troublemaker promptly coming into her view, "Let us end this expeditiously so we may join the others as soon as possible!"

A piercing cry of a hawk answered, and swiftly lowered his flight near ground level. In a blink of an eye Beast Boy changed into a cheetah to accelerate as the back of Cinderblock came into full view. Star adjusted her speed to match the land animal's velocity. Once the Changeling reached the desired speed, he morphed into a pachycephalosaurus and proceeded to stay in sync with his fellow Titan, both raising their speed output in unison. The dinosaur lowered his head to align his neck with skull as a living battering ram while the alien warrior outstretched both her arms with white-knuckled fists.

Cinderblock, unaware of the living locomotives heading his way, continued his mindless onslaught on public property in the middle of the empty streets of downtown. Policemen armed with laser rifles and riot gear hid behind their shields to protect from the monster's creation of debris and havoc. Rifles had little effect on cemented skin, not even tickling Cinderblock. Paying the humans no attention, he reached out his giant hand to grab another fistful of automobile when he found himself catapulted face first into cement metres away. The road, already damaged by Cinderblock's rampage was further split in half by cement ploughing through pavement.

A faint sign of smoke swam in the air emanating from the dark scorch where Starfire's bolt-powered fists impacted. She flexed out the strain built in her hands but powered up quickly for another strike. Beast Boy reverted back to his human form, rubbing his head from the impact with a slight daze in his eyes but nothing broken. "Remind me never to do that again," he quipped and shook his head clear of any confusion. Setting his sights on their villain of the day, the look of the golem roaring onto his feet made him groan. It was just then that he noticed his partner was floating right above him. "Hey wait for me!" He ran over in her direction.

"We will only ask once," the firm tone of Starfire's voice was backed with her glowing eyes, "stay down or we shall retaliate in full force." She pointed her powered fist straight at her opponent's face, "We are in a hurry."

With the Titans present, the policemen started to back away to let the exceptional teenagers some room. An approaching police car wailed its siren and glitter its emergency lights. Stopping a block away, a woman in her late forties stepped out of the car. Brunette hair with streaks of grey barely reached her shoulders with bangs efficiently cut to stay away from the eyes. A simple white shirt and jeans with a regular jean jacket finished her casual look. Any policemen nearby saluted their senior and she simply nodded back while ordering "Seal off all access to this block. Allow no one without a badge to enter, got it?" She didn't watch her men scurry on their way as her eyes were fixated on gifted teenagers taking on impossible odds once again.

oooooo

The world passed by in an excess of 100km/h. Cyborg was more than adept at driving with his T-car, but that didn't mean passengers who trusted him wouldn't skip a heartbeat in that speed. Fortunately, Raven was not of the normal variety as she sat hood down and arms crossed. It was a fairly silent ride as they approached the halfway point between Bludhaven and Jump City. Neither had said anything though their minds screamed for some sort of expression of their thoughts.

Raven tapped a finger on the armrest of her seat, the question in her head itching to get out. "Is there a particular reason why you want me along?"

"You were the best choice," Cyborg answered. Somehow, the sorceress did not take that as the full answer. As her tapping became louder, the half-robot added, "And so that we can talk."

The tapping stopped. "About?"

Both hands on the wheel, Cyborg took a deep breath, "Is there something on your mind? You seem… agitated lately."

She turned her face away and towards the passenger window, "With what's happening recently, I think I have the right to be."

"We know you can get agitated, Raven," he replied with an even voice, "but this is beyond that. You've looked tired for some time and, for the lack of a better term, you've been real bitchy to everyone." Though he made sure he didn't seem like he notice the change when she was around, he was taking notes. "Has Beast Boy been mixing his laundry with yours again?" He tried a bit of humour, recalling the bleached cloak incident and the case of being the unfortunate victim of super-static causing loose garments and hair to fly right onto it—which included Robin's cape pulling him towards her and Starfire's skirt to reveal way too much information when she was around her. Since then the alien opted to wear a short-shorts underneath. Leave it to Beast Boy to create the physically impossible into groan inducing reality.

"If it was only that." Raven rolled her eyes. The memory of Starfire's hair entangled in her cloak was not a pretty sight.

Taking a peek at the driver from the corner of her eye, Raven weighed the situation. Talking about it wouldn't reveal her history, and nothing would be compromised. Though privacy was something she valued, locking everything inside did not go well for a team as she witnessed of her peers, especially their leader. And if there were anyone she would feel comfortable confiding in for such delicate matters, she always found herself imagining sitting across Robin or Cyborg as the result. Perhaps it was time to test her instincts with that theory.

"Well?" The other patiently waited.

Raven sighed, "The city has been keeping me up." That was met with a raised mechanical brow as she continued on, "I mean the population's fear. Normally I never had a problem with something of this scale but it's been continuous."

"So," Cyborg made a left at a traffic signal as he listened to the quiet girl, "it's been a strain on you?"

"That would probably the best way to describe it. It's not just the city; all of you have been contributing too."

Caught off guard but not surprised, Cyborg glanced to his passenger quickly before watching the road again. He had almost forgotten how sensitive she could be to being a receptor to emotional currents.

Not letting the reaction pass her by, she quickly added assurance. "It's all right. I've been around you guys long enough for me to control how much I feel from you all. But the amount emanating from the city had worn down the walls a bit."

"What about meditating? Sleep?"

The mistress shook her head, "I meditate but once I return to full consciousness I still get hit by it. Sleep has been of little use." A gap of silence passed as both contemplated the information. But there was another tidbit that further prevented her a good night's only very recently when they went out to investigate the scenes where bodies were found. It was a simple conjecture that did not sound right yet could be the key to explaining a lot of things.

Before she could build up the sense to say it, Cyborg beat her to it, "Remember when we were checking out the sewers?" When he received a nod, he continued on, "Robin thought these thugs want the victims to be found. Maybe…"

Raven half-smiled for a second, appreciated to know that someone had the right line of thought as her. "That's what I thought. Most adept criminals would stick with a low profile; draw as little attention as possible. They wouldn't make such bold, potential mistakes unless it was an announcement for attention…"

"Or part of an agenda." The T-Car slowed down to a halt at a red light, allowing Cyborg a short break to lean forward and rest his chin on his arms on the wheel. "This case is getting sicker with each passing day…"

Troubled by the induction as well, Raven returned to look through the windows to the outside world with the ocean glittering beneath a clouded sky. Seagulls soared on the air, piercing through the rays of the morning sun. So carefree they looked in flying with their own flock with cries of laughter. But upon closer inspection, she spotted that the "leading" bird had a beak full of food from, no doubt, garbage that a human half ate and threw away. The friendly birds revealed to be competing ones. They snapped at, dived on, and generally bullied the lead bird, hoping for a lucky drop. Cracking the serene image of morning, a cry turned into a shriek and the lead bird fell from the sky onto the rocky shore of the ocean. The wild pack circled and dove down after it, trying to be the first to taste victory.

The car suddenly shifted, knocking her out of her trance. Raven turned her eyes forward to see that the red had turned green and the car speeding up again. Taking one last glimpse of the sky with its sudden silence, she turned away. "Perhaps we shouldn't be involved at all."

"Like taking matters into our own hands?" Cyborg made no effort to huff out his frustration on their current missing member, "Just what was he thinking running off like that! I thought we'd be over this by now."

Raven didn't respond to that, hoping that she had little role in this current situation.

"Whatever the hell happened in that factory has him set on finding these people." He said that description of the killers very loosely. More than the others knew, Cyborg wish he could break a limb or two of whoever was behind all this, but judging punishment had to be left to the courts. One of many rules the Titans had to abide by.

"I think…" The sorceress started, but hesitation pulled her vocal cords though did little to stop the air to pass, "he was disturbed about something…" For that, she received a profile version of the "isn't that obvious" look. "I don't mean in empathy for the victims; I think something more might have happened to him directly than just scrapes and bruises."

"Something more?" The half robot did not like the sound of that. "Expert, are we?"

"It's just…intuition." Raven decided it was none of his business to know that she and Robin talked more than usual after the mind trip to his head in the hallucinations incident. Of course, it only rose from barely to occasional, but when you know someone of another's past that you were not privy to, avoidance can only go so far. And they both knew when to keep their mouths shut when it came to sharing such information with others.

Finally over the bridge, the T-Car entered into city limits, Bludhaven's limits. "Well whatever it is, we'll pin him down and knock some sense into explaining himself if we have to." Now that they were in range, Robin's tracer ignited on both the car's and his own sensors. He didn't bother to adhere to the city's speed limit with that blip beckoning to him, as the city had a reputation of people not adhering to any law at all.

oooooo

The battle had moved from the city to the harbour directly adjacent to downtown. Beast Boy and Starfire pushed Cinderblock to prevent from adding even more extensive damage to the city and to protect people within those buildings. Following them were the police commissioner in her car and two other policemen in another.

Undaunted by the cracks and smoke rising from his solid skin, Cinderblock started another charge. Whether it was fatigue or anger after the beat down he was getting, the running start he gave himself allowed plenty of time for the two Titans to evade.

"This is taking much too long!" Starfire hovered off the ground, slowing down her breathing from the pummelling she slammed on the villain earlier.

"I'll think I can take care of that…" Beast Boy winked at her, a mischievous grin telling the tale of a plan brewing, "Star, try to keep him in one place while I get the drop on him. But when I give the signal, move out!" Acknowledging the instructions, Starfire clenched her fists and shot into the sky in a collision course with the live rock. Evolving into a tiercel, the Changeling took to the skies as high and fast as he could.

Cinderblock roared his frustration and the alien princess returned in kind with her own warrior cry. Eyes flashed a streak of light at the running cement's feet, which he dodged by jumping over the blast. Anticipating that move, Star accelerated her speed and dove under between his legs and grabbed his ankle. With another yell, she pulled on the leg with her strength and velocity and successfully flipped a surprised Cindy around in mid air forcing his back to face the ground. The alien flipped around with a large starbolt glowing between her hands and slammed it down onto her unfortunate victim that sent him slamming to the ground.

In spite of her attacks, Cinderblock tried to lift himself off the ground, with one hand protecting his face from the rain of starbolts.

Above, Beast Boy circled in the air to satisfy the height was right and to aim at his target. Using the bright green flashes as the bull's eye, he turned his beak towards the ground with wings tucked to his sides, talons closed and flat against his tail. Instantly like a rocket, he pierced through the atmosphere; the peregrine falcon's natural dominance over speed made it perfect for the dive.

Faster and faster the vision of the ground below grew. Hoping that his judgment of height was right, he let out a shriek of warning that caused the flashes of green to stop. His sharp eyes saw Starfire flying out of the way while Cinderblock started to get up to his feet.

Satisfied, Beast Boy morphed into another ancient animal—an ankylosaurus—and tucked in on himself like a hedgehog becoming a live cannonball.

With a speed over 110km/h, Cinderblock noticed the shadow looming over him but that was too late to make a reaction. The green ball of armour crashed onto the mountain of rock sending them both several feet down into the cemented ground. Shooting debris of dust clamouring the air and the impact cause the nearby waters to ripple back into the open ocean.

In the initial bounce off his target, the Changeling turned from armour to a more furry skin of a jaguar. He unrolled and landed safely on his feet away from the shallow crater with an unconsciously groaning Cinderblock.

He returned to his human form and Starfire hovered beside him, "That was a most dangerous ascent from that height, Beast Boy."

"I know… and I gotta do it again! Roller coasters can never give a high like that!" He slowly used up his adrenaline by whooping and wailing of arms.

"Dangerous stunt you pulled there," a woman's voice hollered from behind the two. The Titans turned to see the commissioner of Jump City approaching them with a neutral face. She barked out orders to the newly arrived teams to take care of apprehending the unconscious Cinderblock. Sweat dropping, the green teenager sheepishly waved a hand from the little remark he didn't know to take as disapproval or critique.

The Princess confidently bowed a respective greeting, "We apologize for the destruction that our methods may have caused to public and private property. But we are in a hurry to catch up with our friends and—"

"Yes, I noticed you were short three Titans, but that does not excuse reckless behaviour." Light brown eyes that almost matched her skin shifted from girl to boy and back. The two look down to their feet almost guilty at their feet like children reprimanded for rough play on the playground. But instead of a stern frown, the casually dressed woman smiled instead, "But we are grateful of your help as always."

The two looked up with relief chiselled in their expressions. Beast Boy scratched the back of his head, with a bit of nervousness lifted by the smile he saw, "Hey no problem, Commish. We do what we can to help!"

"Agreed," Starfire nodded, but there was a matter that needed to be attended to, "but there is a problem that requires our immediate attention. We do not purposely wish to be rude, however—"

"Commissioner Fay!"

For the second time, Starfire was interrupted. This time a policeman in his full uniform with a clipboard in his hand ran over to the group. Arriving next to his superior, he saluted and explained his urgency, "There's been another murder… sir…" Eyeing the two teenagers, he couldn't decide to whether he should go further in the presence of the young.

Catching the rookie's hesitance, the Commissioner nodded in approval, "It's alright, Torrance. They're practically part of the family." The smile returned only to grow warmer and kinder while the two teens looked back in confusion of the particular description. But they returned their own expression of content; whatever that meant must be something good. Still she explained a bit of her play of words, "The family is my precinct's unit. When your life revolves around work with lives being trusted to another every day, share the best and worst of times, it's hard not to think of them as family."

With that, the Titan's eyes of confusion turned into pride. "We are most honoured you perceive us that way, Commissioner," Starfire bowed again on behalf of her friends. "That is something we very much understand within among ourselves." She finished with a smile.

Even the rookie lopsidedly grinned, still unconfident of his current occupation but trusting his superior's instincts. It was just, superheroes was something to get used to—especially those younger than him who could kick his butt.

The Commissioner saluted to the two, "Well then, you said you were in a hurry? I won't keep you detained." Beast Boy saluted back with confidence, though his goofy smile betrayed his years, and Starfire followed her friend's move since she never had saluted before. Fay let out a soft laugh and watched the city's helpers turn around. She also had her own work to get back to, "Alright, continue."

The rookie blinked for a moment, then shook his head after remembering why he was there, "Oh right… uh, this sir." He handed her the clipboard of photocopies and scribbles written to explain details. "The body was discovered by a co-worker who was worried about the victim when she never arrived for work for two days. Apparently the victim would always call ahead if she couldn't make it, and when her supervisor hadn't received word, the co-worker visited the home."

Smiles and grins of before now taken over by a focused frown, Fay took the clipboard and skimmed through the report. "Adult female by the name of Melissa Lawrence found stabbed multiple times with a kitchen knife…" she mumbled out loud the contents of the page. "Fingerprints?"

While the Commissioner and Rookie were discussing the points of the murder, Beast Boy's ear twitched from the mentioned name embedded within the morbid talk. A name he had heard before; they all did. Looking over to Starfire for a reaction, it seemed he wasn't alone in the memory as well. They stared at each other's eyes to make sure that what they heard was not the trick of the wind, and slowly turned around.

"Excuse our intrusion but," Starfire absently fiddled with her fingers, hoping the question she was about to ask was not true, "this 'Melissa Lawrence' you have mentioned… is she blonde?"

The two policemen blinked. Fay looked down to the papers. "…yes."

Beast Boy gulped, "And, a daughter? Named Mary?"

Again the officers were caught off guard. The Rookie, knowing both answers after reviewing the report looked confused. Fay scanned the paper again, and slowly looked up to the teenagers, "Mary Ann Lawrence… Do you know these people?"

Through her gasp, Starfire managed to form an explanation, "We… we saved Mary once from the criminal known as Cardiac. We returned her to her mother… Sometimes she would send us a card and this one occasion Beast Boy, Robin and I visited and Mother Lawrence said she was overloaded with work so we offered to be care takers while she caught up with her working duties and—"

"Is she…?" The Changeling interrupted the rambling the alien manages herself into when she was nervous. Not that he was fine himself; he looked greener than usual,

"No," Torrance spoke up while feeling sympathy for such troubled faces. "she wasn't found on the premise. It's likely she has been kidnapped." Without saying another word, the four knew what each other was thinking of. Nowadays, a missing child lead the police to think the worst has happened again.

But there was a time to sympathize and a time to act, and Commissioner Fay did not want to waste precious time to find the child, "I know you two said that you're in a hurry, but if we could ask a few questions in relation to the victims, we'd appreciate it."

Starfire and Beast Boy turned to each other again. Cyborg had entrusted them with the city and the city was asking for help. This was one of those times that the Princess wished she could be at two places at once.

oooooo

"It's been here overnight." Cyborg punched into buttons to recall the R-Cycle's memory to check when exactly Robin had arrived at the scene. The vehicle itself was fine, no marks of it being in a recent battle. He returned his attention to the tracking device on his arm, "And... looks like he's straight ahead. Let's go!"

Raven followed the running ex-athlete, but once she made it passed the wooded area, it felt like she mentally slammed into a wall. Cyborg seemed oblivious to passing an uprooted tree lying in the middle of the grassy field. Raven made note of it, as the streak of scraped earth aligned with the fallen tree towards the mansion. "There's something very wrong here," she called after him. Something very cold was biting her spine on this sunny, early afternoon.

"We can deal with that after we fin—" Cyborg slid to a halt so suddenly Raven almost crashed into his back.

"What?" she barked, the irritation let out before she caught it.

He didn't bother to answer, but only reached down to pick up the item that was unfortunately, not on the person it should be with. Slowly, he turned and showed to his partner what had made him stop. Her stoic face remained the same, but her body under the cloak turned rigid with the unexpected find. The possibilities of how Robin's utility belt was taken off already concocting in her head. That was an accessory their leader rarely took off as it held most of his weapons and defence—things that enhanced his body as a weapon.

But most of all, a residue of fear tickled her senses. Who it belonged to, she was not certain but a part of her had a well educated guess. Something dark had happened here, trailing from the mansion—even lingering on the belt, and she didn't want to push into it any further. Mentally she chanted her sacred words to calm her mind and spirit—to block the darkness from adding to her own. She tightened the cloak around her, with stark, navy eyes glaring at the mobster's home. The feeling that's where some questions may be answered touched her curiosity. Looking back at the fallen tree and turning to the building once more, she parted her cape enough to point to their next destination.

Cyborg resolutely nodded as he came to the same conclusion. The grip on the belt tightened. Whether it was fortified with an army or not, nothing was going to stop their path to their friend.

oooooo

_Footsteps echoed up and down the hallway in tune with his heart beat. The melody was heavy and metallic, yet swift and precise. Lights above dimmed and shut off one by one with each step, darkening a path ahead of him for ease of travel. The Lights tended to leave a bad imprint on him._

_Robin still laid on his side in the same place, only the Bat was huddled in the opening between his bent arms. The little animal chirped wistfully like a mother beckoning her children to come, but soon its attention swerved from that path to the drumming of. It was coming from the opposite side of the hallway from its roost. That alone was enough to tell what was heading their way causing the fur to rise on itself, fangs bared and wings ready for flight._

_By the chirps, the approaching figure knew that his Rival was at the young teenager's side. An annoyance, but nothing to be worried about. As he traveled down the halls with the Darkness following him, he noticed the surroundings were colder than usual—not that it bothered him. It was just…unusual. _

_These little details only fuelled the reason why he was here again. An invasion of sorts had occurred and surprisingly he had no hand in it. Left and right, certain doors remained opened and unmonitored. He sighed as he closed the door of those that were broken into. Perhaps the lessons were not being adhered to by his reluctant protégé. Of course, he'd never say that to the boy's face lest all hell broke loose, but they both knew that's where it was heading despite some setbacks._

_And when he arrived to the sound of a Bat's screech, he shook his head at the heap on the floor, closing the window and drawing the curtains over the glass pane. Turning around, the figure clad in black and armour leaned against the wall with arms crossed, and observed the sleeping form. Overhead the lights were dimmed just enough for the shape of bodies to be seen. Not that he needed Light to see, but the boy needed at least a moon's worth of it. A little time had to pass to let the air of dreams dissipate, but it seemed more likely that the Bat's incessant shrieks will wake the young Titan first._

_His single eye stared down at the animal, and slowly the shrieks turned to chirps then to silence. Its heated eyes glared back, unhappy by the figure's presence, but ultimately had to tolerate him; there were something mutual within that pupil. Rivalry was their relationship, but they both had the same job and goals they were chosen for in the end._

"_Rise and shine, Robin." His voice was as devilishly velvet as ever._

_Sleep drifting away from him, the young Titan opened his eyes and blinked though the clouded vision. He shifted his arms to rise, but found it busily filled with a bundle of fur looking away from him. Or looking at something. Holding the Bat in his arms, Robin managed to prop himself up to rest his back against the wall, one leg folded up to his torso and the other lying straight on the floor. Once he got his bearings, he followed the Bat's line of vision to the figure leaning casually on the opposite wall watching him. Used to the Dark, he could easily make out the figure._

_The tall, dark man didn't see the boy's eyes rolling though he certainly felt it. They've played this same old game before._

"_Slade."_

* * *

SO TIRED I AM.

Anyways, many thanks again to returning reviewers and newcomers. Your words of encouragment help much in persuading myself to continue on a difficult story (explained below). I was surprised that one flame at least mentioned how the story was (sort of :). That must be a good sign!

I actually had a rather long author's note that I was going to add but thought better to skip it. The short form of it:

Mistress of Chibis has touched upon this, but the subject matter is increasingly making it difficult for me to continue. How far would be going to far? I debated whether to include the very young in such a story but these things unfortunately happen to such children (random outburst: child abusers/rapists must be tortured, flayed and shot--in no particular order) and in this way add a bit of realistic threat. Having Robin and BB as younger teenagers (which at times I regret I chose those numbers) is for the same reason, and that what happens and reactions to be more tragic and hopefully stir some emotion from you, the reader.

The fact that this story is for entertainment to draw the reader into another world and the characters being entirely fictional help me to continue to write. But you know, the guilt is still there. It has also prompted me to change the yaoi/slash warning to "possible shounen-ai." I might have inadvertantly painted yaoi as nothing but a rapefest (and for other reasons I won't say due to spoilerage). When I mean "possible shounen-ai", it depends if you perceive two characters interacting like that or not so that you're not forced into one or the other. I'm focusing more on close relationships in general (though I do keep a couple of pairings in mind ;).

Ok this is becoming too long. Must leave before I ramble further.

Thank you all again. Hopefully, this chapter and A/N didn't deter you from shrugging off future chapters;;;  
-Art of Silence


	7. Down Where the Woodbines Creep

Whoa how long has it been?

This chapters been slowly added bit by bit and ended up nearing 20 pages. Thinking that was much too long, I've cut it to 13, 14 or so pages and the rest will be added to Chapter 8. Because of the interval of times between each writing session, I'm...really not sure if everything is flowing smootly. Job searching has distracted me very much from writing, and constantly being tired isn't helping either. I'm afraid that updates will still be sporatic until I have my life under a semblance of control.

Even so, I hope you all enjoy this. It'll probably confusing still, but hopefully, if I'm even half a good a writer as I would like to be, all will be explained by the end of this story...or even in midway.

I'm still amazed at the unexpected amount of positive reviews I'm getting. You all are a generous lot :bows:

And to answer your question **Piper of Cats**, I think it can still take up to 24 hours for a newly uploaded story to show up in the list.

Not beta-read...yet again.

7: Down Where the Woodbines Creep

"This guy's out cold too." Cyborg mumbled after checking the slumbering man's pulse. He and Raven were surprised to find that, not only had they met zero problems as the searched the premise, not one individual was available to oppose them. Every man they came across were asleep, a rather deep one akin to a coma. The mechanical Titan even tried to wake one man sprawled on the front lawn of the mansion with no results.

Raven attempted to probe through the lawn man's mind, but all she had sense was the calling of Morpheus echoing in their consciousness. If she tried to dig deeper, a barrier would block her path. She would have thought it normal since all minds have some form of a defence mechanism; however, all the victims had the same blocking "signature." The suspicions of one individual performing such a barrier in multiple minds only spoke volumes of how strong this individual was. Above all, the barriers felt they were accompanied by the feeling of suction. Nothing could enter, nothing could leave the mind, but at the same time blank.

Assuming it was safe to not worry about detection, they made their way to the front entrance. Oddly, the front doors opened without resistance as Cyborg turned the knob and pushed. Inside, sunlight illuminated the atrium with the winding staircase and royal red carpeting. He stepped inside and a visible shiver crawled down his spine, "Feels like a haunted house or something…" His optic sensors relayed that there were no internal laser security and similar entrapments involved. It was a risk to do it, but he had to make sure whether the Boy Wonder was inside or not, "Robin? Are you in here?"

No answer returned. Not from friend or foe.

Receiving the nod that all was clear, Raven tentatively entered the innards of the building that seemed to be alive to her senses. Remnants of whatever attacked the guards still saturated the air. Again it was the same aura she felt inside all the guards' heads, and during their investigation of the sewers and landfill. She cautiously picked her steps, bracing herself for any surprises in this puzzling atmosphere.

The atrium spoke of luxury while demanding respect from visitors. Eyes wandering, the sorceress happened to notice the strange markings on the floor beneath her. Tiny shards of something yellow and black littered on a contrasting marble floor tattooed with erratically uniformed black streaks. She bent down to inspect the markings closer, brushing a finger across the lines. "These look like an explosion took place."

Cyborg, following Raven's lead, bent down and picked up the largest shard on the floor. It too was yellow, a shade that was familiar as well as his sensors told him of its metal composition, "Explosive disc. Robin might have tried to blow the doors down." Which was a point that seemed inconsistent with how easy the two managed to enter, but also the fact there was a lack of a blaring hole in the doors at all. Pushing off the ground, the half-robot turned to inspect the inner part of the doors. Not a mar or scratch infected the relief design on its hard surface considering what the explosion did to the ground. Unable to come to a conclusion from these clues, he ushered for them to go deeper into the mystery.

The two walked towards the center of the atrium and stopped at the base of the staircase. Snores caught their attention of a couple of men asleep on the floor, and there seemed to be more coming from a long corridor. With two ways open to them, Cyborg pointed down the hallway with his thumb and Raven nodded in agreement. Cloak wrapped securely around her, she floated herself up to the second floor and settled herself over the railings and to the carpeted floor. Down below, Cyborg turned to march his way down the corridor.

Looking down at the floor again, she noticed the red carpet smothering only one of the two passages the stairs had lead to. Flipping a mental coin, she chose the undecorated lane and floated to the wide open doors that laid there.

The furnishings of the interior of the room left no doubt this was a bedroom. The wrinkled pile of beddings told signs that the occupant was in a hurry. With the help of sun's rays penetrating the windows, a glint of silver caught Raven's eye. Walking closer, she picked up the item foreign to the room's Renaissance theme. Between her index finger and thumb, the Mistress found the item to be familiar. It was a silver sphere, less than an inch in diameter but an opening on one side revealed intricacies of a higher design. It was something, Raven remembered, Robin often used when distracting an opponent. She turned her attention to the rest of the room, fishing for anymore clues. In the corner chair sat a litter of stuffed animals, and maybe a dress or two hanging on the headrest. Odd considering the rest of the room gave the impression that an adult sleeps in these quarters.

When nothing more extra ordinary confronted her, she left to check the other end of the second floor hallway.

Passing the atrium again, Raven took another glance downstairs and continued on.

While the Mistress came towards doors similarly carved as the previous, her team mate walked in the same direction on the floor below.

For every door he came across, Cyborg opened to reveal either nothing, or find those who worked in the house dead asleep. As much as that puzzled him, it did not detract his attention to the draft coming from the end of the hallway.

He stopped before the fallen lamp with its bulb and vase-like structure in pieces. The table that probably held it was sprawled below the broken window, on top of broken glass. On one edge of the table, the wood was scratched and splintered showing a sign it was the tool used for the violent break in. Or rather, break out. As if the table wasn't an enough clue, there were too few cuts of glass on the inside to have the window broken from the outside.

Slowly the giant Titan stepped further towards the window, scanning the window for…anything at this moment. When he was close enough, small stains of red on the tips of some sharp ends of the glass still attached to the frame made his heart skip a beat. He reached out with a finger to pick at one of them. Dried blood flaked off easily. Not liking where this was leading, he looked through the broken window to see the rest of the shards of glass littered on the grass. Some patches of large glass were crushed further indicating someone had stepped on them. And he could very well guess who that person was.

All signs pointed to a chase that had occurred here. A dash for survival that he hoped his friend was able to win. But if that were true, he wouldn't be holding on to a loose belt searching for Robin in the first place.

"Cyborg."

Raven's voice over his intercom broke him from his grimace, "What is it?"

"I found a live one."

oooooo

He hadn't seen her so sad before.

Beast Boy placed comforting hands on Starfire's shoulders, having to stretch his arms to reach her just right. The questioning continued between the two teens and the only rookie on site, Torrance, just outside the victims' residence.

Commissioner Fay wanted to see the crime as it was found with her own eyes before more evidence was picked out. The two Titans had insisted that they come along, and after much begging from them, she caved in the end. Though she allowed them to accompany the crew in exchange for immediate questioning, she strictly forbade them to approach the victims' house while a corpse slept inside.

That was all right with Beast Boy as staring at dead eyes was not part of his to do list. However, Starfire had initially insisted to enter, saying that watching over the site of death was her people's way of coming to terms with the reality that a friend or loved one will not return to the living. But just the sight of a stroller finally carrying the dead body of Mary's mother caused tears to well up.

Beast Boy tried to placate the princess' distress but he was feeling incredibly awkward, anxiousness mixing with sorrow himself. This was all such foreign territory to the Changeling, and he was unsure of what to do, how to act, what to think. He had experienced losing a friend that could have been something more, but at least it didn't end with blood, though that didn't make what happened with Terra easier. And even in the most awkward of moments, as he saw the body covered in white cloth, strapped to the mobile bed, he couldn't help but imagine Starfire asking why they tie down the dead when they won't be going anywhere. It was a lame, tasteless joke, and he berated himself for thinking such thing at a time like this—but he couldn't help it either.

While both Titans listened and answered questions to the best of their ability, Beast Boy had half his attention to the present. He noticed that Starfire was distracted too, most likely from the current circumstances, but for Cyborg and Raven's search as well. There should have been word of something by now.

He hoped at least they had good news to provide when he and the Princess had to break the bad news.

"I think that's… all for now," Torrance attempted to smile to invoke some spirit, but it came out more morbid in the backdrop of the current circumstances. "We'll keep in contact if anything arises…" Hearing his own voice, the Rookie winced at how empty it sounded. This was his first major case, and although he understood the emotional toll police life would bring, part of him assumed it would start off slow. But instead he had been hit by a runaway tractor truck. "The Commish said you can leave if you'd like after the question period…" Looking down to his boots then to the house swarming with police, Torrance added, "Honestly, I wish I can join you." The memory of seeing the stuffed horse in a pool of blood coloured his thoughts.

"I don't think I can blame anyone for thinking that," Beast Boy responded as Starfire looked too preoccupied with the events that unfolded before them. "If we find anything new, we'll let you know." Exchanging sympathetic nods, the youngest Titan turned quickly on his feet and almost darted out of the house's perimeters. The sooner he got away, the faster the feeling of…_something_ crawling all over his skin will dissipate.

It took a while before the youngest Titan realized his partner was not following and turned around. Starfire was still standing firmly in place, head down and arms against her chest. One hand rested in another, palms up. Adjusting his line of view, Beast Boy noticed that her eyes were closed and looked much like she was praying. Or something similar. Torrance meekly called to her once or twice, but thought best to leave her to her thoughts.

"Um… Starfire?" Beast Boy chirped.

Taking another moment, the Princess finally acknowledged Beast Boy's call. She bowed to the Rookie, mumbling some departing words and walked to join her current partner.

"What were you doing?" Beast Boy asked with curiosity, though he could guess what it was he witnessed.

Mournfully smiling for the sake of politeness, Starfire responded, "Saying good-bye."

"Oh…"

A silence both neither summoned nor repelled settled between them. Somehow, they both knew they needed a little time to take in the shock of death.

The Princess inhaled deeply, letting fresh air cleanse her mind. Her thoughts still lingered on what happened to Robin, now intensified by the current events. She couldn't understand why, but the murder multiplied the fear she held for her dear friend. But this was an entirely separate event, was it not? Logic and instinct clashed, with instinct beating in the end, "Beast Boy…"

Her slumped, green friend looked up.

"You have summarized to me of Robin's… anxiousness from his experience at the factory. You have also mentioned he seemed…'jumpy' when you went to him at the Pizza parlour." Receiving a nod from the young boy, Starfire continued, "Perhaps we should go back to the restaurant and question the employees there. Perhaps… one of them has something to offer concerning that parcel and whomever delivered it… Perhaps…" It was a conclusion that that the team shared: the box had disturbed Robin enough to put him on edge.

Raising an eyebrow at her nervous repetition, Beast Boy tried to confirm what she was suggesting, "You don't want to join up with the others?"

"I do…" she answered solemnly. As much as she wanted to, Starfire knew that Cybrog and Raven were capable enough to hold out the search with efficiency—but that didn't dissipate the want. But the heart can wait. Right now, intelligence was more resourceful in the light of new dangers. Her back straightened and started to hover in the air, "However, maybe an investigation of our own is in order."

oooooo

"_You have a lot of nerve to show your face again." Robin sneered at that mask, long ago accepting it as the man's true face. Whatever history was behind it, it was long out shadowed by cruel metal._

_Slade just smiled, "And good morning to you. I see that you had a guest last night—and you didn't introduce me?" He pushed himself from the wall he leaned on and walked his way in front of the boy still holding the Bat in his arms. The stark white of his eye observed the slumped body curled in on itself, looking very much like his childish age. Fading bruises that should have healed long ago relayed that the little bird still dwelled on that frightful night, and he was pleased by that detail. It meant his lessons did not fall on deaf ears. _

_But the state the Boy Wonder was currently in… regretful. The boy had heard the lessons but failed to implement them as he should. That was something that the masked Manipulator would have to reprimand. "Get up Robin," Slade's voice tightened yet still retained some semblance of powerful seduction, "You're disappointing me each and every time I return."_

_Despite the hatred against those words, Robin slowly began to rise from the floor. It wasn't because Slade told him to—of course not. He was getting up because he should, what with his mortal enemy standing before him. That's the only reason... _

_The Bat squeaked in his arms, wiggling free to claw its way on his shoulder and to his back. Claws on its wings dug into the fabric while perching to look over Robin's shoulder, beady eyes burning its stare into the metallic mask. _

_Robin half leaned against the wall to support himself as he was still groggy from the forced sleep. The surroundings didn't appear as clear as he hoped, and he needed to buy some time to get his bearings before confronting Slade head on. The last thing he needed was delighting the sadist observing him like a canary in a cage. Ruffling feathers to emit an illusion of control, he spat out his chirps, "Like I'm aspiring to please you..."_

_There was that defiance again; challenging as always. That was something Slade hated to love, loved to hate of his ex-Apprentice, "Oh but you are—why else would I be here?" It was particularly amusing. Of all the analytical knowledge and excessive years of training, the boy just didn't get it. Such discipline over his mind and body yet the owner had little understanding of their individuality and unity._

"_You tell me," Robin whispered, but the rage of seeing the man back was building too high, too fast, "As I recall, _you're_ the one who drugged your way into me!" He pointed an accusing finger at his tormentor, his other hand in a fist, shaking under his anger. But his weakened body still needed support._

_Slade shook his head. Did the boy really want to go through this old topic again? "My dear Robin," the deadly kindness in that voice sent a shiver down the boy's spine, "I was here long before that dance." No matter how small he made his voice, its slithering tracks echoed through the hallway. "Locked away but always watching…" he continued on his knack to make every word sound so wrong. It was a talent he overtly displayed if at all possible; his opponents seem to "enjoy" it after all. He watched while the hero's masked eyes lowered to stare down at their owner's metal-toed boots._

_While the villain clearly was enjoying the little repartee, the Titan leader was getting sick of it. No matter how many times the game was played, Robin still found himself disadvantaged every time, "Shut up…"_

"_You pulled me in." Slade took a step closer towards the cornered child, the anger forming in those small fists undeniable._

"_Shut up!" The frustration rose like bile eager to be freed._

"_You've locked me in." Another step and Slade watched the young boy hug closer to the wall as his space was invaded…_

"_That's…not true…" Now the voice started to shake, ever so slightly._

"_You want me in." Before Robin could counter another word he noticed too late that the man had cornered him. The gap between them dwindled to just a breath away from each other's faces. The dweller of the Dark towered over the songbird mimicking the might of a raptor. His hands clasped the wall behind the smaller figure, capturing his head within the empty space between his out-stretched arms. Robin pressed himself further back if possible, while the Bat crawled itself over the shoulder, clinging to the Boy Wonder's left arm to avoid being crushed. It cried out a warning, and although Slade was not pressured from it, he amused it by extinguishing his descent towards his prey but fixated the distance he had covered._

_The previous invasion by one of the Brothers, and his forcing sleep against his will left Robin drained to think straight. The barriers he worked his life to erect couldn't establish quickly enough to protect him of what was going on now. He could handle the psychopath before in numerous encounters. But recently the villain had adapted—adapted very well._

_To compound it, Robin didn't give himself enough time to make new barriers to counteract. Honestly, he thought he didn't need to. It was unlike him to not make reparations for reparations, but the door that contained Slade until now contained things he didn't want to deal with. The meanings behind those illusions he made himself see were too much in too little time. There were things he learned, about the Dark and about himself from the hallucinations. Inner torment he could withhold from his friends, but always lingered in his mind... _

_It was too close then, too frightening, too true. Just too tired to deal with them... So he ignored and banished them. And he had been doing just fine until—_

_Slade and the Bat turned to the sound of a creaking, signalling motion. A door some few feet away opened on its own. It didn't open all the way, stopping just enough for someone of Robin's size to squeeze inside. _

_The Bat stayed silent and motionless while Slade lifted the corner of his lips in curiosity. He recognized the look of Fear on the mask nailed to the door. Turning his attention back to the boy below him, he caught the delicate shivers hidden beneath the cape now hanging over his shoulders. A thought occurred to him: something very wrong must have taken place to have Robin teetering between hate and fear all too soon. Defiance lasted much longer than this—that was how the game was played. _

_Perhaps…he was too effective in his methods of training in their previous encounter. And although it was satisfying to know that, he may have cracked the bird's shell a little too hard leaving him more vulnerable than intended._

_However, it was still an opportunity for training. No doubt the Bat found weakness in its prison's lock and freed itself to sway Robin to its side once more._

_Still keeping his position, Slade decided to tread a more forceful road to invoke the reaction he wanted. Treading from bruise to bruise on the young Titan's paled skin, he, with his most enticing tone, continued, "The fact I'm standing here before you once again says many things Robin." A large hand moved down to brush away a strand of hair stuck to the teen's forehead, "After all that has happened, all the time that has passed… I'm flattered you think so highly of me."_

_That… that snapped Robin's head up to stare into the eye of damnation. Slapping the intruding hand away, fists formed again with knuckles turned white under his gloves. The aggression ready to rip out the other optical flesh for that assumption grew. His own lips parted to words that came out calm, almost matching Slade's knack for soothing tones if only the saturating poison was absent, "I hate you…"_

_Exactly what he expected—_wanted_ to hear. "That may be. But I understand you and you _know_ it." A truth that Robin had made a hobby to deny. It was extremely gratifying to Slade, knowing that their relationship had not extinguished despite their times together and apart. He had only been let out the Outside once, and he very much enjoyed it. And he wanted Robin to know that by letting him run free, drug or no drug, he had desired it as well. "And here I am, let in by you willingly, letting me into the part of you of that dark corridor. You've unlocked my door for a reason…" Words rolled off his tongue while the little bird he lectured rumbled with rage against his voice, "You've ensnared me, now you have me to teach you, to inspire y—" _

_Volcanic rage coursed through his veins, power concentrating in the flying fist. Robin straight punched the metallic mask right in its centre with a resounding clang, sending Slade staggering back. The flying mammal flapped off in surprise from the sudden attack, though if you looked for it, it was showing off a very bat-ish smirk._

_Robin froze in his finished motion, chest heaving from adrenaline and spite. He didn't want to hear anymore; the time for action became severely overdue. The chance for payback had emerged itself...and he'd be damned if he was to be taken advantaged again in two consecutive days. _

_Slade adjusted his mask. From the corner of his eye, he watched as Pride swiftly open. Now this was what he wanted to see in his protégé, "That's it…" Flexing his fingers, he straightened to his full height, sizing up his fiery opponent. The Titan remained silent but his gritted teeth spoke volumes. He was becoming alive again… "Fight, Robin!"_

_Not taking the chance for granted, without warning he lunged at the teenager who reacted too late to the inhuman speed. Slade back handed him in the face throwing Robin to impact ribs to floor hard. Groaning from the sting on his cheek and most likely another bruise forming against his ribs, the Boy Wonder pushed himself up, pushing himself to continue the fight. But he needed to catch is breath and gather strength. The adrenaline was working its magic to counter the dizziness from before._

"_Fight to win," the voice boomed, echoing around the three beings in the empty hallway. Slade wouldn't give the Titan time to recover. He reached down and pulled Robin to face him eye to eye while long, legs dangled in the air. Stronger, larger, deadlier yet retaining its softness, the voice sounded like it was swarming the two locked in combat. Robin blamed the lack of oxygen being passed to his brain as the voice seemed to take an omniscience presence._

_A terrifying concept considering it was Slade's alien voice._

"_Fight to conquer, to survive…" On and on the Voice boomed, filling the air with its command. Ignoring the feeble attempts of green gloves clawing on his arm, Slade slammed the body he held into the wall. A loud crack resounded leading to Robin seeing stars behind his mask. But Slade still continued his chant, "Show me you haven't lost your edge, Robin."_

"_Shut up!" A door featuring the face of Wrath opened enough for scorching heat to escape into the hallway. Robin lifted his leg and slammed his metal sole directly where the large man's ribs converged. He dropped to the ground, rubbing his neck from the sealing grip, never letting his eyes off the man who just stepped back couple of steps, and merely patted his chest._

_The dark dweller did not even attempt to hide his gloating, "Is that all?"_

_Robin stumbled to his feet, cape flowing over his shoulders again. That kick should have at least cracked a few ribs but it didn't. That punch from before should have snapped the head back, but it didn't. Things were not going his way again. Again… _

_Always again_

_But like hell he would let himself submit to those who seek to control him. To Slade, to the Bat, to the Brothers, to anyone…_

_The fire from his ex-Apprentice was a lovely sight as always. His invitation had been accepted. He had been set free from his prison for a reason, and he would dare not waste his chance to stretch out his legs again. Coolly, Slade cracked his knuckles—to remind the boy why he was here in Robin's mind and thus all too real, "Fight, Robin. Or do you need another beating to jog your instincts?"_

_Giving in to his Wrath, sparked by Fear and propelled by Pride, Robin charged towards Slade. His scream crashed the velvet voice that impregnated the air._

_The bird was flying right into his arms, and Slade intended to catch him, "That's it… Fight!—"_

His shrill intake of air echoed off the walls as he woke up with an unbridled startle. His upper body launched upright but the abrupt movement made his head feel like it hit through the windshield of a car, and forced him to lie on his back. Gasping for breath, his chest heaved actively for much needed air.

A headache, or a migraine… or maybe a railway spike hammered into his cranium racked his head. He hoped it was only from a nightmare or some other psychological explanation, not anything physically wrong with him, though that option wasn't quite satisfactory either. There was an eerily emptiness about his sleep…or coma—whatever it was he just spat out of. Honestly, it could have been a coma and he would have never noticed. But, something urged him to wake up.

Moaning quietly from the unbridled ache in his hand, head and neck in sync with his heart beat, Robin took a calmer approach. Gently raising himself to his elbows, he managed to sit upright. The lesser pain, the dull singe he felt on the back base of his neck, was tolerable. Gingerly he traced an undamaged finger to the tender spot. A touch raised the pain for a moment, but quickly subsided to a dull ache. The pain in his head however, though subsiding, left him dizzy and disoriented but his vision and thoughts were becoming more manageable.

And the more manageable his brain became, the more confused he got.

His fingers frantic to purge the headache were met with moist hair. They danced around the dark locks until the Boy Wonder realized that his spikes were cast down.

Beneath him and over his legs felt the silky softness of cloth caressing his body. The cloth felt warm, due to his body heat, but strangely his upper half shivered from the currents of cold air. Blinking away the last remnants of sleep from his eyes, the young teenager looked down while his hands finally relinquished their hold on his head and roamed his torso.

And he did not like what he was feeling, nor the sight befallen his eyes.

The Titan gasped again, confused and of all things, embarrassed at the sight. His chest was bare, and upon inspecting his arms, they too were exposed save for the fresh gauze wrapping his hand. The sheet used as a cover mounded on his lap in a heap, rolled together from sitting up, was actually a blanket. The feeling of his legs in contact with said material was answered by a tinge of red on his cheeks. Lifting the white blanket just enough, he realised to his horror that he was nude underneath as well.

And the last thing he remembered was…

…was that indecent embraced he was forced into, and the hand turning his sight to darkness.

Sight… Eyes… _Oh no—_

Hands darted to his face, frantic to find a piece of plastic-fabric glued to his face. As if being kicked in the head, nothing but skin shocked his fingertips. The drenched, black hair hanging over his forehead brushed side to side while Robin continued to deny the mask was missing. His futile search became so fevering; the Titan didn't even try to bottle in his panic as he always trained himself to do.

He just needed to find it. Out of his entire costume, the mask was a vital part of him—his identity. So caught up in his panic, the young hero lost his awareness of his surroundings.

"Looking for this?"

Robin froze his frenzy. Knocking back some of his senses into place, the startled teen twisted on the bed to the direction the voice came from. Simultaneously, he seized the covers and wrapped himself with it as tight as he could to cover up much skin as possible. He allocated most of the sheet to his front, while half of his back was bare. Absently the Titan struggled between clasping the fabric or covering his face, but eyeing his mask dangling between Thomas' pinched fingers; it was too late for hiding faces now.

The pair of red irises roamed the outline of the bundle sitting on the white bed decorated with an extensive canopy. Solid oak with carvings of flowers, vines and gargoyles with angel wings guarded the luxurious mattress. Tom had to admit, his latest catch was truly exquisite being framed in such romantic surroundings. He loosened his tie while keeping his lecherous stare fixated on his current prize. Then he had to stifle a snicker when his guest's cheeks turned up to another notch of pink. He liked it—a lot. Modesty made things much more interesting. "It's a wonder why you would want to hide those lovely peepers under this ugly little thing," Tom remarked. His tone drooped to disgust while waving the black and white mask as if it stank up the room.

Things were moving much too fast, much too deep in the wrong direction. A horrifying scenario would not stop itself from playing in the Robin's head. Without the mask caging it in, the part of him that was too young for his line of work told him that he less he knew of what happened during the black out, the happier he would be later on… Such a childish wishful thinking he thought he outgrew—at least the part of him who stood in the spotlight most of the time as he fought crime. That Robin told him, logically, the more information he gathered the more he can counter efficiently to solve the current problem. That wasn't too pleasing to conclude.

Robin squeezed the blanket even more, the whites of his knuckles looking as if they'll rip apart. Something akin to a grimace tainted his mouth, and he could not hold back the question any longer. He had to know what he didn't want to hear, "Where are my clothes…? What…" He felt his heart skip at the thought, "…did you do…?"

It was a snarl if there ever was one. Tom merely shrugged keeping that accursed smile.

"_What_ did you do!" Robin repeated with ferocity.

Tom sneaked a look behind the boy's back that went unnoticed. On the other side of the room hidden in the corner were the lights didn't reach stood, his brother casually leaning against the wall. Obviously his elder sibling was enjoying this as well. "Clothes, such as they are, have been burned. Can't be too careful you know what with modern technologies' wonders with tracking devices." The parade of fear that the young Titan did a poor job of holding back made them both salivate. "I think it'll be more entertaining if _you_ tell _me _what you think I did."

If Robin clenched his fists any harder, his nails would have pierced the skin of his palms. He didn't want to think of what happened. Nor did he think that being told what happened was worse—the man cockily standing across from him must be able to think up too many disgusting images. So he opted to remain silent, and let the info come to him. He wanted some semblance of control.

The younger brother merely stared at those eyes he had grown to love the instant he laid his own pupils on them. Maybe he should leave the boy in the dark if it meant enjoying such delicacy everyday. But that would also cause the stress to spoil the meat. And he couldn't have that. Receiving a nod of agreement from Jack, Thomas continued, "If you're that worried little Red Breast, all I did was clean you up. Honestly, you look much cuter with your hair down." Thomas felt the fear and the dread subside just a tad, while the anger and hatred seemed to flood in their place.

Robin narrowed his eyes, rightly being suspicious of the explanation. It seemed so…perplexingly decent answer. That explained the wet hair, but he tried hard not to shake from that last remark. The last thing he wanted to do was give them the satisfaction that whatever this monster said affected him. With that toothy smile staring back at him, the lone Titan knew it wasn't working out the way he planned.

And then it hit him. The teen berated himself for not thinking about her in the first place, "Where is the girl!"

"Ever the gentleman." Slipping the mask into the inner pocket of his suit and loosening his tie, Tom started his decent towards the bed, "She's fine, little one. Off dozing off in her afternoon nap I suppose. "Receiving a growl in response, he added, "And untouched. You have balls for demanding things for someone in your predicament." His tie was now fully loose, unbuttoning the top-most button to loosen his neck. Casually he added, "I like it." The seductive tone was not lost on his victim.

Unsatisfied with the answer but little options to go with, Robin awkwardly pushed himself back as the man stepped closer. But all too quick he was balancing on the edge of the bed, feeling the extra covers behind him falling towards the large rug lying on the concrete ground where the bed laid. "Stay where you are!" he shouted, but as he expected his stalker didn't stop.

Red-gloves would have loved to continue this little cat and mouse game, with the little mouse chained to the bed post. However, he and his brother were on tight schedules what with the potential problem concerning the Duke's whereabouts. They just had to wait until they got the word from the higher up before they were on the move. But his toy didn't know how far he was willing to take at the moment, and it was more fun that way. When his little bird hopped off the bed, holding up the large fabric like some make-shift toga, he playfully made his way around the bed still eyeing his prey.

"Whatever your plans are, whatever sick game you're playing… they're not going to happen! I won't let it!" Robin retorted in a tone that could pierce rock, his stature becoming taller with the little confidence he collected. Clothes or no clothes, it would not be made into something detrimental. He can do without the mask... It wasn't the one that made him the fearless leader of the Titans—at least he hoped it wasn't. "If you think I'll bow down like some lost lamb then you're sorely mistaken!"

"Are you sure you ain't already?"

Something warm and delicate bumped into the teen's back. With amazing speed Robin was half turned, but a quicker arm wrapped around his shoulders to prevent the escape in full. A strong hand clasped one side of his shoulder, a grip so powerful he couldn't get himself to move away.

Suddenly, the sound of a phone ringing cut through the morbid mood. Jack clamped the boy's mouth with his hand. Stopping in his tracks, Thomas lifted a cell phone from his inside pocket and answered with a simple, "Thomas." A couple of nods and a shake of a head, Tom listened in silence while grunting once in a while. "No we wiped the flunky's mind..." He paused only to start with a sheepish grin that almost looked right on his smooth face, "I think…"

Relaxing his struggles enough, Robin could hear the static sound of yelling from the other end of the line. Tom's reaction to pull away with a grimace from the phone and Jack's grunt of amusement sounded like they had years of experience with that reaction.

"No no! I mean, well, I know damn sure that the guy won't remember me'n Jack—"

Nodding profusely and pacifying the caller, Tom sighed in relief at the calm voice into his ear. "Of course, we'll be promptly on our way. Love ya." He then ended the call.

The inflection of that tone caught Robin's attention. For someone he deduced as being prideful with an aristocratic flare, the tone did not sound like someone of Tom's character to talk to equals or subordinates with. On the contrary, it sounded like he prostrated to a superior. And a bit of affection to add to the confusion

That was not a good sign.

Closing the phone, Tom replaced it back to his pocket and continued his stalk to his prey. Almost instinctively Robin backed away despite the wall of flesh holding him. He couldn't exhale anything beyond a muffle under the leather gloved hand. The fear that always lay in the back of his head but almost never acknowledged, bid him to flee.

"Sorry, darling but work is calling," Tom sang sweetly. "Don't worry; I won't do anything drastic while you're asleep. Besides, I'd want you awake when I pop you open," he purred while watching the child-like eyes that captivated him widened just enough, and the body recoiling away from his extending hand. "But, a little snack first…"

Whatever it was that was happening, Robin felt his strength waning. The contact was more tense and frightening than before—something pulling him into that hand. His struggles to stay conscious were nothing but feeble cries waning at the force pulling on him, draining him.

A melody of soothing fear echoed to him:

"_Sleep, baby, sleep  
Down where the woodbines creep;  
Be always like the lamb so mild,  
A kind and sweet and gentle child,  
Sleep,baby,sleep."_

In the end, the dark consumed him.

"_Welcome back."_

_Grabbing onto the wall for support, Robin ignored Slade's greeting and watched the man in black, eyes blazing red stalk towards him. The extra bruises from their fight still freshly throbbed on paled skin._

_Slade again leaned against the wall behind the weakened Titan. He stared down the hallway as well, half smirking and half growling._

"_I see you also invited a guest." Unfortunately, the veil his ex-Apprentice covered around him signalled that Robin did not want his involvement._

_Slade merely observed until he was in need of entertainment._

oooooo

"I'd comply with her if I were you," Cyborg said as he rested his hip on the oak desk. There was an edge to his voice that was short of threatening as he was taking the good cop approach for his part. His partner on the other hand, prompted herself as bad cop, spontaneous as it was.

Raven truly was not in a good mood.

"I swear I don't know what happened to him! I swear it!" Their suspect, snivelling and shaking as, provided too little information to be of any use in their search for their missing team mate.

"My patience is wearing thin," Raven almost hissed. Black auras lifted the still-terrified Leonard by the hands, suspending him a foot off the ground. Her eyes glowed to emphasize her deadly tone, but that was only for show. He didn't need to know that she or the giant half-machine would never tear him in two. They've watched Robin numerous times using intimidation to get results when it came to street thugs and lackeys and the occasional super villain. And though Cyborg was not the best at it even with visual aid, Raven seemed almost a natural at it as Robin was.

Leonard frantically shook his head, "I swear it! On my grandmother's grave I swear!" He stopped wiggling to feebly break the psychic bonds to catch his breath. "The kid came in, I told him what little I knew and he left for the girl! I swear that's all I know!"

For fifteen minutes that was the story the pathetic man sputtered. If Raven's wrath, real or acted, did not elicit more answers by now, then that must be all he knew. Making eye contact with Cyborg for silent agreement, Raven lifted a black glowing hand and added a slight pressure to the black aura wrapped around the man's hands. "You said you were assaulted by two men." She received a nod of confirmation from the man.

"Well," Leonard gulped,"I only remember …two guys… I think…"

"Right. Very descriptive profile."

"But that's all I remember…" Leonard became quieter as he tried to recollect again, but to his horrified surprise he found that he couldn't. It was like a gaping black hole had sucked a part of his memory, of his mind. "If I could tell you more I would! But…"

Cyborg lifted himself off the desk and round his way to face the hanging man. Despite the ill activities the man was previously involved in, there was dose of decency and genuine confusion expressed on his tired face. "But what?" the half-robot prompted.

Shaking his head, Leonard continued, "I just can't seem to remember what happened exactly… I know the gist of what they look like, what they searched for, but everything else… Like, like there's a gap in my memory… Like someone reached in and ripped it out…"

Under her hood, Raven raised an eyebrow, "But you remember some things about them, like residue from trauma?" The feeling that was nagging her throughout the wretched mansion seemed to grow with that description.

"They…they seemed to be in a hurry," the lackey continued, "and then the red dots…"

Without Cyborg or Leonard noticing, Raven slipped quietly into her mind, eyes open to lightly graze her surroundings in a higher plane of awareness. The coldness she felt before radiated here, and indeed as the suspect described, a fading black hole that wounded the plane lingered. It was similar to the feeling she had at the sewers, only too much time had elapsed then.

The black hole seemed to have sentience of its own though she couldn't quite pinpoint what it meant. It felt… hungry?

Returning to the earthly plane, Raven relinquished her magic chains and the man dropped in a heap on the floor. Though still sceptical, there was truth to Leonard's confusion. "I think you're right," she said. The psychic aura she felt through the entire house, on the meadow where Robin's belt was found… There was mind manipulation involved, she was sure of it. From how well the tracks were covered and the amount of sophistication involved in manipulating, these people must be experts in their knowledge of the mind. Yet there were a couple of seams not woven particularly well, and she inferred that on the men being hasty. "There's something more about this than meets the eye."

Cyborg puzzled by the Sorceress' hypothesis, "What do you mean?"

Could it be possible that the perpetrators were trying to selectively wipe the man's current memories? Or they couldn't wipe the mind completely? Either way, it required strong metal capacity. Though Raven understood her powers were born under less than appealing circumstances, the process behind to harnessing and using it was relatable to human psychic activities. "I'm not exactly sure. Just… a feeling."

"Intuition, huh?" Cyborg hid the smile forming in spite of their current situation, "Who am I to argue with you on that?" He lifted Leonard to his feet, a feat easy to perform since the man was light as a feather barely reaching the half-robot's height. The rough rustle knocked a line of silver dangling from his neck, hanging from it cross glowing dully in the afternoon light. Re-cuffing the thin wrists with the cuffs Robin left behind, he was ready for the door when a thought came to him, "To Bludhaven police?"

The question was made towards his team mate, but the prisoner struggled in his response, "No no no! The Blud cops will turn me over to the boss for sure! He has them wrapped around his pinkie!"

Raven remained looking unimpressed, though decided to stew him in the mess he made for his life. Sympathy for the man was low on her priority list, "And your point being?"

"If, if he don't find out what happened here, he'll know for sure I ratted him out if you guys send me to the cops!"

The desperation on Leonard's face was almost amusing to watch. A crooked smirk played on Cyborg's lips. Catching on to the Mistress' game, he added his own spice to find any more useful information, "Why should we care? It's not in our jurisdiction to hinder the investigation—"

"What investigation? They're haven't and not gonna do anything!" Leonard let the desperation consume him to get out of this situation clean and fast. If he had to die for his sins, he'd rather take the judicial execution than imagine what the Duke had in store for him. "The Blud cops don't give a damn about these kidnappings! They get paid to keep things quiet; anyone in blue stupid enough to uphold the law doesn't repeat that mistake twice…"

Cyborg hid his grimace. He knew the Bludhaven police were corrupt, but didn't know it was this corroded. "Again, why should we care? You told us all the information you know, as vague as it was."

About to lose his wits, the ex-mob flunky made a last ditch effort, "I…uh… how about taking me with you?"

Raven shifted her weight to one leg, "Why would we do something like that?" Her eyes locked onto Cyborg's for a moment, seeing the tight nod for silent agreement while their prisoner was distracted with thinking up a reason. It was obvious that the Duke was a very dangerous man with a warped sense of pleasure. If they could get solid evidence or testimony…

"Y, you can't leave me here knowing what they'd do to me…"

Cyborg made his expression as cold as he possibly could, "You did when you let your boss have his way with the kid."

"…I didn't mean…to…"

Raven had a better time keeping her expression empty to the man. She eyed the cross hanging from his neck and chose her words wisely, "After something like that you expect sympathy? Redemption to come to you? The _sins_ you have committed cannot so easily be _atoned_ for."

Leonard stopped his whimpers, knowing full well the crimes he committed, have let happened. Salvation was too far from him now.

"However."

The man looked up, almost looking hopeful in face of that single word.

"It's unmistakable that you have guilt for what you have done. That is the first step to go back into our Father's grace. You can take another step towards the path to be forgiven, if not by humanity then by God's merciful hand." With cape covering her body, the mystique around Raven radiated.

Meekly, the captive man inquired, "What do you mean?"

"Testify against your boss," Cyborg turned a glance at Raven, making sure this was the result they both wanted.

She nodded, "If you agree, we can have you under twenty-four hour surveillance as long as it's needed. You'll be safe, though not from your own thoughts. That is between you and the Almighty. But you will be secure enough to think about what you've done and have a proper confession, or wallow in your own pitiful sorrows and insure that Lucifer claims your tainted soul through your boss." She leaned in, softening her voice, "You have fallen, but not far enough that the light won't reach you. You still have time."

Minutes of contemplation, shaking, agonizing, resigning passed. He weighed the consequences of both options, and the idea of working for salvation in the eyes of the Lord was better than facing the wrath of his boss. Either way, he had to face seeing the girl's crying face haunt him every day. Leonard made a weak nod.

"Good." Raven responded, "We'll take you to Jump City police." Before Leonard could protest she added, "And they will have you in protected custody. The Lord smiles on their justly work."

Cyborg looked down at her, both curious and amused at what he witnessed. It wasn't everyday he heard her talk of religion in an almost passionate manner. He leaned towards her ear, quieting his voice, "I didn't know you're into religion like that."

Raven impassively shrugged, "Who says I am. I just read a lot of books."

* * *

Robin angst, YUM. I admit, writing the Robin and Slade interation was fun :D 

I'm trying to pick things up, but also pacing myself... maybe too much. I was going to add a hint for what's coming for next chapter since it may be another wait...but I think anticipation can be fun. It was for me while waiting for the JLU season finale to air ;)

Or I'm an evil tease :D

-Art of Silence


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